Take A Chance On Larry
by magical hag
Summary: Terri x Larry: When Larry moves to Hawaii, Terri finds herself having to put up with the womanizer.
1. Mrs Dallas

"_Welcome to the niche corner" –Richard Ayoade_

A/N: I know there are a few people out there who think Terri and Larry would work, but let's face it, it's quite few and no one has cared enough to write a fic. So I'm here to change the latter. I'm sorry that this fic might be the only option to one's Terri x Larry needs. I'm not very good with keeping these two in character. Kinda some plot-less drivel and to be honest I'm completely unsatisfied with my writing. I started out wanting to do things properly and I did try, but I quite rather rushed it and picked completion over quality. So I'd like to apologize. Then again who am I even talking to? Is there even an audience for this pair? Even if there was, is anyone reading this? Hello? Cheerio? Waka waka buttercups.

I like doing this-

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Three's Company I'd be dead right now because a group of people I know would have already killed me for not releasing the rest of the outtakes.

I love you. Please, r&r (rinse and repeat)

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**Mrs. Dallas?**

When Larry arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii he was welcomed by a dreary, wet, and stormy afternoon. Initially, he had been planning to hit the sunny beaches and cruise for babes as soon as he possibly could, but instead, he was having trouble simply leaving the airport. It had been announced that a hurricane was a-comin' and he was told by the airport staff he was lucky to have even landed in Hawaii. But now he was to be stuck at the airport. There weren't any taxis lining up at the front and the concierge was unable to get anyone to come to the airport and provide transportation. Other customers were stranded just the same.

'_Other_ passengers,' Larry thought, and then it clicked. _'C'mon Larry, you got this_,' he told himself. He pushed the cart with his luggage piled upon and walked slowly scanning the airport. After a few minutes, he stopped in his tracks when he believed he found what he was looking for. From a distance, he made sure it was exactly what he wanted. Definitely what he wanted. A gorgeous blonde, in a low cut top paired with a slit skirt that showed off her shapely long legs, sat reading a magazine. He didn't need to go to the beach after all.

He began walking towards her. His back a little straighter, head a little higher, and with a lopsided smile that made him—he believed—appear boyish and playful, he was ready to make his move.

"Hello there," he greeted her once he was standing next to her.

She looked up from her magazine. "Hello," she said with a smile.

"Is this seat taken?"

"No, not at all. Please," she said gesturing the empty space.

"Thanks," he said sitting next to her. "The name's Lawrence. I just arrived in Honolulu."

"I can see that," she said nodding at his luggage. "I'm Delilah," she said holding out her hand so that he could shake it.

Instead, Larry clasped both hands around her hand and said, "How fitting, such a beautiful name for such a beautiful woman," whilst looking into her eyes.

Just then he felt a hand on his shoulders followed by, "There you are Larry, dear. Love of my life."

He turned his head to see who the person was. "T- Terri?" he uttered confused.

"_You're married?_" inquired Delilah angrily.

"No-," Larry began.

"Why yes! We're on our honeymoon!" Terri said cutting him off. She then proceeded to wrap her arms around his shoulders from behind then gave him a peck on the cheek.

Larry was beyond confused. Things were happening so fast. What was Terri even doing there?

"You got a lot of nerve you creep!" Delilah screeched as she yanked her hand away from his grasp. "Lady, I'm sorry but your husband's a dirtbag."

"Yes, but he's _my_ dirtbag," Terri said before placing another kiss on his cheek.

"Ugh, good luck with that," Delilah barked with disgust before walking off. She continued to mutter something about crazy people.

Terri stopped hugging Larry and began to have a giggle fit.

"What was _that_? She was totally into me!" Larry exclaimed sounding quite distraught.

She waved her hand trying to catch her breath. "You should've seen the look on your face," she said between laughs.

He stood up and folded his arms as he tapped his foot impatiently. "You finished yet?" he said waiting for her.

She finally took a deep breath and calmed down. "Welcome to Hawaii, Larry."

"Some welcome," he grumbled.

"I saved a poor girl from making a big mistake," she claimed to explain her motive. She stood back and took a look at him. "Ah come here," she pulled Larry in for a hug. "It's great to see you."

He couldn't stay upset and returned the hug. "Good to see you too," he replied, "_Mrs. Dallas_," he added jokingly. "So, what _are_ you doing here?" He asked once they had let go of each other.

"Well, I saw the news this morning and knew you'd probably get stranded," she explained. "C'mon let's go before I'm stuck in here, too," she said grabbing some of his things to help out and began heading out.

"Wow, you didn't have to do that. Really," he said following her.

"Oh it's no problem," Terri said sincerely. "It's a good thing you called to tell me you when you were arriving." – Larry thought otherwise. "So, how's everyone back in L.A.?" Terri followed up.

"Jack proposed to Janet," Larry informed. "That sly dog," he mumbled with a shake of his head.

"Oh yeah! I know," Terri hummed delightfully at the news of her friends' engagement. "Janet called and told me."

"Can you believe those two?"

"After all these years…"

"Took them long enough," they said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Ah, here we are," Terri exclaimed as she walked over to her car. She opened the trunk and began loading his things into it.

"A Mazda?" he asked with disgust. "How about an upgrade," Larry suggested.

"I'm good, thanks."

"How about a downgrade then?"

Terri rolled her eyes. She closed the trunk and made her way over to the driver's side while Larry went around to the other. They got into the car and Larry handed her a piece of paper. "Here's my address," he said.

She took the paper and looked it then sucked her teeth and shook her head. "I think we're going to have to go to my place for now," she said just as thunder roared. "It's about to get worse."

"If you wanted me over at your place all you had to do was say so," he said with a cocky grin. "No need to come up with excuses."

"_Larry_," she warned. "You know what? Fine, we'll go to your place. I assume you have food and water there? First aid kit, candles, matches, a radio" she prattled off a list of things while pulling out of the parking spot.

"Hey, no need to get heated," he said putting up in his hands in surrender. "I didn't say I _didn't_ want to go to your place."

Terri found herself rolling her eyes again. She wished Janet was there so they could exchange looks of disdain.

"So Terri, what awaits for a single bachelor like me in Hawaii?" He asked after a while.

"A kick to the shins," she replied without missing a beat.

Larry responded with a fake laugh before asking, "No really. What's the party scene like here?"

"Party scene? What are you—a college student?"

"Not a bad idea. Where's the nearest college?"

Terri couldn't roll her eyes any harder for fear that they might pop out of her head at this point. "Do you have anything in your head besides sex?"

"Who said anything about sex? Maybe I want to further my education. You have a dirty mind, Terri! Dirty, _dirty_ mind!" he berated her sanctimoniously.

"Right getting to ogle hot girls is just a perk that comes with it."

"Your opinion of me is so low," Larry pouted.

They continued to drive for a while in silence. With the rain pouring down and winds picking up Terri needed to concentrate on the road. Larry sat in the passenger seat trying to take in as much of his surrounding as he could, but his eyes kept drifting towards Terri. Every time it seemed like she noticed him, he'd quickly looked out the window again. He remembered the silly little crush he had on her when she first moved in with Jack and Janet. He had thought he was in love with her. He let out a small chuckle at the ridiculousness of it all.

"What?" Terri asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

"You're not going to tell me why you're laughing?"

"I was just thinking…," he shook his head, not wanting to bring up that embarrassing date.

"Yes, that is funny. You, thinking," she teased. She received a sarcastic laugh from him. "I can't believe you're actually moving here," she stated when she realized he wasn't going to tell her what he found to be so amusing.

"Well, my boss is expanding and thought he should have his number one sale's man run things here."

"Right, number one," she muttered with a scoff.

Larry ignored her comment. "Plus I've practically gone out with every available girl in Southern California— I need a fresh market."

"Ugh. You're such a pig."

"You know I'm joking, right?"

"No," she answered frankly. "I don't think it's that you've gone out with all the girls in Los Angeles. I think these women have warned each other about you, and now, your notoriety precedes you."

"Ouch," he said rubbing his chest.

"Anyways, we're here," she said pulling into the parking lot of her apartment building.

After parking her car the two sat there for a bit looking out the window as rain poured down. It was obvious to see how strong the winds blew as large palm trees bent with their leaves being stripped away and branches being broken. They exchanged glances of concern.

"Looks like we're going to have to make a run for it," she said unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Ready when you are," he said doing the same.

They got out of the car, slamming the doors behind them as they made a mad dash towards Terri's apartment unit. She did her best running against the heavy wind and rainfall. Larry followed suit. "Wait, my-," he yelled, but Terri couldn't hear him with the wind whipping about them and thunder clapping. He had no choice but to leave his luggage in the car.

By the time the two got into her apartment, they were both soaking wet despite their best efforts to make haste.

"We should get ourselves out of these wet clothes before we catch pneumonia," Terri stated.

"Good idea! I'll help you out of yours," Larry said with a flirty smile.

"Ahahahaha," she let out a contemptuous laugh before putting on a straight face and said, "You wish."

"I _definitely_ do."

Terri groaned at the cheesiness of it all. "You stay right here and I'll go get us some towels," she said as she disappeared into some part of her apartment.

"Nice place you got here," Larry commented looking around whilst taking off his shoes and socks.

"Thanks," she said upon reappearing. "Here," she handed him a towel and then began drying herself off. "I might as well just take a shower, what about-," she stopped when she looked at him and realized he didn't have anything to change into. "Oh right, your luggage."

"Yeah I tried to tell you but-," Larry was cut off by the loud noise of a large tree branch hitting the apartment.

Terri sucked her teeth. "I think we're just going to have to leave it in the car until the weather gets better out there. In the meantime you can wear my clothes!" she offered.

Larry gave her a skeptical look. Having seen what she wears, he didn't believe she'd have anything that would fit him. But she went off in search for something anyways and then came back with a frilly yellow bathrobe that seemed to be quite short.

She handed it over to him with a huge smile on her face. "You can change in the bathroom," said Terri gesturing in the direction.

"Thanks," he said with disappointment and went in to change out of his wet clothes.

Terri went into her bedroom to change out of her wet clothes and into warmer clothing. When she came back out there Larry was, posing with his head held high and hands on his hips in her yellow robe that barely covered his manly bits. She couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous sight.

"Is this sexy or what?" Larry asked.

"Without a doubt 'or what'."

Just then lightning struck and the power flickered out.

"Great," they said at the same time.

"Let me get the candles," Terri stated as she went feeling her way around the place in the dark trying to make it to the kitchen. That's when her hand connected with what she could only guess was Larry's chest.

"Getting frisky, are we?"

Terri may not have been able to see his face but she could definitely hear the smirk in his voice. "Move," she said before pushing him, knowing the couch would break his fall.

When Terri came back out with a lit candle she found Larry lying on his side along the couch with one leg bent while his head was propped up by his arm. He threw her a sensual smirk and patted the empty space in front of him. "Quite a romantic setting isn't it?" he stated.

"You know you might want to have that looked at," she said nodding towards his bottom half.

He looked down and noticed that the way he was sitting wasn't leaving much to the imagination. He quickly closed his legs and sat up. "Perv," he mumbled under his breath.

"Don't worry. I'm a nurse. And as a medical professional, I 'd like to say, I am so sorry."

"_What_?"

"I'm kidding. I didn't see _much_."

He seemed to be momentarily satisfied with her answer until he realized the double meaning behind it. "Hey!"

"_Because…_ I didn't look." She took a seat on the couch keeping as much distance from Larry as she possibly could. She placed her lit candle, candles, and matches onto the coffee table. She turned and faced Larry, leaning against the armrest of the sofa. He seemed to be keeping his distance from her, too as he sat on the other end facing her. "So tell me. What have I missed since leaving LA?" she asked.

And Larry told her plenty. They passed the time catching up and swapping gossip. For Terri, it felt great to be able to reminisce about her time in Santa Monica with someone. At some point, she brought out snacks to munch on as they continued talking. Time passed by quite fast, because soon it had become midnight. She hadn't expected that. She always thought of Larry as just a neighbor but the evening spent talking to him told another story; they might have actually been friends.

"Oh, boy I need to get some sleep. I have a twelve-hour shift tomorrow," Terri informed after glancing at the clock. "Looks like you'll have to spend the night here," she stated glancing out the window. The hurricane had yet to subside but had calmed a bit since.

"Great! Is your bed big enough? You know what, it doesn't matter. We'll just cuddle," Larry grinned.

"Behave or else I'll put you out in the rain," she threatened.

"But, Mrs. Dallas, it's our honeymoon," Larry whined. He was met with Terri's death glare and he knew he shouldn't push any further. He put his hands up in surrender.

"I'll just go grab a pillow and blanket. You can have my bed."

"What? No! I'll take the couch."

"It's fine, Larry. I fall asleep on it all the time-,"

"No way! I don't want to put you out on my account. You've done enough. I'm sleeping on the sofa. Just get me a blanket and I'll be fine. Plus you have to work tomorrow." Both were a bit surprised by the words coming out of his mouth. He wasn't exactly known for being selfless after all. At that moment he was quite impressed with himself.

"Are you sure?" she asked. He nodded assuredly. Terri went into her room and came back with a pillow and blanket. "Good-night, Larry."

"Night," he said as he made himself comfortable on the couch. "Uh hey Terri," he called.

"Yeah?" she responded halting in her tracks and turned to face him.

"I was wondering… could you show me around? You know, whenever you're free. It'd be a lot of help."

"Of course!" she said happily. "I'll just have to get back to you after I check my schedule."

"No problem-o."

"Great! Goodnight," she said sweetly and went into her room.

"Night— Mrs. Dallas," he returned then blew out the candle and laid back down. He was a bit surprised to have spent time simply talking to Terri and it was actually enjoyable. Usually, when he was with a woman it involved pickup lines and making out or getting yelled at. He went to sleep wondering if he would be able to remain on Terri's good side.

* * *

Note: "Lies My Roommate Told Me" (Season 6 Episode 6) was an episode I alluded to very briefly.


	2. Pet Names

A/N: I'd like to thank the lovelies who sent in reviews! I'm glad we got some Terri x Larry (Lerri? Tarry?) love out there!

This chapter would not write! In fact, this chapter didn't exist. So the chapter that won't write has been pushed back and I am dreading it! Do I need it? Idk

If you're sticking around, bless you

Some things may not make sense. But this is a Three's Company fan fiction. If the show didn't need to keep in the realm of rational thought process neither does this bitch

According to the board game Monopoly **R&R **is a great investment

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**Pet Names**

"Larry," he heard his name being sung through a sleepy haze. "Larry, please wake up," the voice was so soft and melodic he didn't really want to wake up like the voice requested. But then suddenly it changed. "LARRY! WAKE! UP!" it barked, shortly after he felt something whack him in the chest followed by another whack.

"I'm up! I'm up!" he quickly opened his eyes and sat up to see Terri, already dressed in her nurse's uniform, holding a throw pillow above her head about to hit him with it, for what he could only assume would be the third time. "Ow," he griped rubbing his chest. "Well, good morning to you too _Attila_," he grumbled with a hint of annoyance.

She flashed a huge smile and ever so sweetly sang, "Good morning." Just then Larry saw the playful glint in those blue eyes of hers right before she threw the pillow at his face.

He instinctively threw the pillow right back at her, which she dodged with an easy sidestep. "You sure got some bedside manner for a nurse," he commented sourly getting up from the couch. With a loud yawn, he raised his arms high above his head and stretched.

"Larry, your robe," was all she had to say to make Larry scrunch up remembering he was in one of her short robes. "I've been trying to wake you up, on and off, since six-thirty!" she complained throwing her hands up in frustration.

He shrugged dismissively. "That's so early. What time is it now?"

"A quarter to eight," she answered as she walked into her kitchen. "I have to be at the hospital by nine. But since I have to drop you off first, we have to head out early," she explained her situation, coming back into the living room with Larry's clothes. "I'm sorry I won't be able to help you get settled," she added as she shoved his clothes into his arms.

"Hey, hey, look. No problem. I can handle it," he reassured her. But then he hung his head, looked away and mumbled, quite audibly, "It sure would be nice to have a little bit of help though." He sighed pathetically heaving his shoulders.

Terri rolled her eyes, unimpressed by his over the top acting. "Larry_, please_. Get dressed," she was almost begging. She knew that after a storm like from the previous night meant the hospital was bound to be busy, needing all the help it could get.

He looked at the pile of clothes in his arms with confusion. "How'd you dry these?" Larry asked burying his face in the warm clothes. "They smell like…_grease_," he added, his face twisting in disgust.

Terri shrugged than answered him, "They're fresh out of the oven. A little trick Janet taught me." She sighed as she watched him continue to sniff his clothing. "Go _change_," she urged pushing him towards the bathroom.

"What about breakfast?" he remarked dragging his feet and annoying the nurse to no end.

"Larry, I swear I will drag you out of the apartment in those robes and leave you on the side of the road!"

"OK! OK! Yeesh," he said with a huff finally getting himself into the bathroom.

Whilst waiting for Larry, she organized her living room and gathered her belongings to take to work. "There are grease stains on my shirt!" she heard him screech from the bathroom.

She winced feeling guilty. "I'll get it dry cleaned!"

…

By the time she got Larry out of the apartment and into the car, it was already eight. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear as if a storm hadn't ripped right through. However, the streets told a different story; material possessions had been damaged, trees bent out of shape, power lines were still down and debris littered the area. Navigating the roads meant keeping an eye out for items strewn about.

They were driving along listening to a news radio station as it updated them on the weather and traffic conditions when Larry suddenly yelled, "Stop the car!"

Terri slammed the breaks and the car came to a screeching halt. "What? What happened?" she asked panicked. They were lucky that no other cars had been behind to crash into them.

"Pull over," Larry ordered. Confused, Terri complied and pulled forward and parked next to the sidewalk. Larry got out of the car and jogged over to a bush with a damp, cardboard box wedged into its foliage. Terri watched with curiosity as Larry came back carrying it to the car.

"What's that?" she asked when Larry opened the door. Before he answered she heard a tiny mewl giving it away. "Ohhhh," she cooed. "Is that what I think it is?"

"No. Better. There are two of them!" he said excitedly tilting the box to reveal two black kittens, their wet fur clung to their tiny shaking bodies.

"They're all wet!" she exclaimed with worry. "Poor babies! The night they must've had!" She quickly took off her sweater and put it on her lap before grabbing the noisy little critters from the soggy box and placing them upon her lap. The little things fussed and made noise. "I know, I know," she cooed again while gently drying one of them with parts of her sweater.

Leaving the soggy box on the side of the road, Larry hopped back into the car and took the one kitten that was left. He realized he didn't have anything to dry it with and he wasn't going to damn well dry the- probably flea-ridden - little kittens with his expensive coat. "Your sweater's all dirty and wet now," he noted.

Terri merely shrugged. "It's fine. The poor little things need it more than I do," she explained. "There," she said once satisfied with the dryness of her kitten. She kissed the little thing on the head and cuddled it.

Larry took her damp sweater to dry off the remaining kitten as Terri continued to cuddle and kiss the one she was holding. "Hi there little guy," he greeted as he began wiping it down. It mewled as if it were returning his greeting. "Hey, uh Terri? I think we ought to get going," he suggested.

"You're right! I'm going to be late!" she placed the kitten in her lap and floored it.

Larry was jerked back at the sudden force. "Hey! I haven't even put on my seatbelt. Are you trying to _kill_ me?!" he wailed as he groped for the seatbelt.

Terri responded with a side-eye to his overly dramatic panic. "It's an easy way to make it look like an accident," she simply stated.

As she drove, Larry resumed drying off the kitten, the little thing fussed with every stroke. "I think he's hungry," Larry speculated.

"You're right! They're probably starving," she said deciding to take them to the nearest store first.

The pair of humans and the pair of kittens soon arrived at a disheveled liquor mart, the lights were out, the windows were covered with planks of wood which had saved them from being damaged during the destruction of the storm. Luckily for the kittens, the store was open.

Terri left Larry and their new companions in the car as she quickly went in and made purchases. She came back out with a full grocery bag and a box of cat litter. He had thought she would be back out with some milk and cat food, but it looked like she had done some grocery shopping as well.

She got back into the driver's seat and began digging into the brown paper grocery bag.

"Wow, what is all that?" Larry said peering at the bag.

"Open your mouth," she ordered.

Larry didn't even question her, opening his mouth like he was told to do. Soon he tasted something super sugary as it was being shoved into his mouth. He tried to speak with a mouthful, finding it difficult to do so. Chewing it and swallowing he realized it was a donut hole. "Did you even wash your hands?!" he cried out when he was finally able to speak.

"No," she mumbled with a mouthful of donut.

"That's disgusting!"

Terri rolled her eyes. "Calm down Larry. You're not going to die," she stated after swallowing. "I'm just trying to get some breakfast into you." She explained pulling out of the parking lot of the store, finally heading for Larry's new place. "You'd think he'd be a little more appreciative," she grumbled under her breath.

…

Larry stood just outside the door of his new apartment's manager talking to the older gentleman. The conversation mainly consisted of Larry apologizing as the elder gentleman gave Larry hell for not having picked up his keys on the given date. Even with the explanation of a hurricane did nothing to appease the apartment manager's aggravation.

Donning a bad toupee that contrasted starkly from his natural hair color, he easily towered over Larry making him nervous about having already gotten off to a bad start. No matter how much he apologized, the manager hadn't provided Larry with the keys to his unit. He seemed intent on keeping the used cars salesman there as long as he could to waste his time as some sort of payback.

"I waited for you all day and night yesterday! I couldn't go anywhere or do anything!"

"You couldn't go anywhere even if you wanted to," Larry muttered under his breath thinking about how the storm would've kept him from going out in the first place.

"_What?"_ the man hissed but Larry shook his head with a smile as if he hadn't said anything. "Then you turn up here early in the morning and start banging on my door! It's not even 9 yet!" he added another complaint.

Just then Terri strolled up to them with the kittens in her arms, wrapped in Larry's coat that he had earlier deemed too expensive to dry them off with. "My _JACKET_!" he cried upon seeing how his coat was being used.

She ignored him giving her attention to the apartment manager instead. "Hello," Terri sang with a tilt of her head and a wide smile.

Larry noticed her hair was no longer pulled back into a ponytail she usually kept for work, instead her long blonde locks spilled over her left shoulder. He watched as she peered up at the man through her lashes with a coy smile and introduced herself. He almost laughed out loud at how outrageously flirtatious she was being. "I'm a registered nurse, Terri." She tried to reach out for a handshake but found it difficult. "Oops," she said fixing her hold on the kittens. She turned and placed them in Larry's care right before she gave them pecks on the head. "I'm sorry about that she," she said apologetically as she turned back to the apartment manager.

"Stu Zimmer," he said with his right hand already out.

"Great to meet you, Stu!" she said shaking his hand. "Wow, you are _very_ strong, huh?" Larry watched in awe as she commented with a wink as she withdrew their handshake. He noted how quickly that softened the grumpy man's demeanor. "Can we please get his apartment keys so I can leave him here and head over to work? The storm was quite bad yesterday and I'm sure there are a lot of patients who need attending to."

Stu cleared his throat and Larry could tell the man had lost his edge and was feeling nervous around the nurse. She seemed to have that effect on people. "I thought you were living alone?" he was talking to Larry but eyed Terri up and down.

"He is! I'm just dropping him off," she explained.

"Should have dropped him off yesterday. How would you like having to wait all day and all night and-," he began his rant but Terri nodding along cut him off.

"Yes, I should have. That was my fault." She hung her head as if she were ashamed.

"Didn't say anything about pets either," he said eyeing the kittens.

"Oh well, that." She bit her bottom and her eyes darting to them over. "Larry here, found them in the streets all wet and cold and I couldn't just leave them there all by themselves!" she explained with wide-eyed innocence that was sure to make Shirley Temple jealous. She took one of the kittens back and cuddled it. "Isn't it just the cutest little thing?" she asked sticking it in Zimmer's face.

He backed away at the sudden intrusion but it did manage to make him smile. "Ok, ok. But if those kittens bother the neighbors, or end up damaging the property— out your boyfriend goes," he warned as he handed Terri the keys.

"I assure you, Stu, Larry is _not _my boyfriend. But I'll make sure he doesn't cause too much trouble for you," she promised as she handed both the kitten and keys over to Larry.

"Fine," Stu huffed crossing his arms. "Make sure he's prompt about things. I don't accept late rent checks," Larry heard Stu tell Terri as he left their vicinity and headed for his apartment on the second floor. He didn't even say his goodbyes being much too eager to get out of there, leaving Terri to deal with him on her own- which she seemed to be managing quite well.

He arrived at his new place on the second floor; it was a fully furnished studio apartment. When he walked in he noticed how bare it was despite claiming to fully furnished; a bed, a table, a couple of chairs, a couch, a fridge, and a lamp. The only thing he had called ahead to make sure he had was for a queen sized bed, which he hoped he would be using it with his future dates. Boxes piled only a few feet from the door containing his belongings he had sent on ahead. He walked around it and walked over to the bed, setting the kittens down onto it before lying down on the bed as well.

The kittens began to mew. This time it was constant and they wouldn't stop. That's when he realized he hadn't fed them yet. He got up and was about to head back down when a knock came on the door. He opened to see Terri with the bag of groceries and a litter box. He greeted her and took the items from her placing them on the table. "Have a look around," he suggested as he emptied the contents of the grocery bag. As he placed the contents of the bag onto the table he noted that the reason Terri had bought so many things was that she had thought ahead. A few cans of wet food, a bag of dry food, milk, small plastic bowls, a can opener, plastic utensils, hand towels, and of course his donut holes. "Wow you really came prepared," he remarked as he began prepping the food for the kittens.

Terri first made her way over to the kittens vocally noting their noisiness and how they must be starving. Picking them up and cradling them against her, she walked around the apartment. "Nice place. A studio, huh?"

"It's cheaper. Also when I bring home dates, the bed is already there," he reasoned sounding quite proud of himself, which earned him a pointed look and an annoyed huff from Terri. He walked over to the kitchen sink with the cat food and milk setting it down on the floor.

"Aww I hate to have to leave so soon, but I'm already late," she said placing the kittens by their food. "I gotta run. Call me if you need anything," she told him as she walked out of the apartment, the door shutting behind her.

He mumbled a "bye" but his focus was on the hungry kittens. He crouched down next to them to watch them devour their food and pet them.

…

After Terri had left and he had his fill enjoying watching the kittens eat, he decided he needed to unpack. That's when he realized Terri had left in such a hurry that they had forgotten to take his luggage out of her car. He was about to call Terri, but he realized his "fully furnished" apartment didn't come with a phone. Even if he had a phone he wouldn't know where to ring, wasn't even sure which hospital Terri worked at.

He wasn't desperate enough to go downstairs and enlist for Stu's help. So instead he began to unbox his belongings— realizing he should have written the contents of each box before shipping them. And when lunchtime came around, the place was a mess of open boxes and items scattered about. He thought about grabbing lunch, but when he went in search for his wallet he remembered leaving his carryon bag in Terri's car which contained his much-needed wallet. It was going to be a long, long day. He began to wonder if Terri would even realize his belongings had been left in her car if she would even stop by that day. He began to panic a bit as he thought about his circumstances. He was truly alone in Oahu.

As Larry laid on his bed in total tribulation, his stomach rumbled reminding him just how hopeless the situation was. Then he remembered. Terri, thoughtfully, had bought him donuts. He shuddered at the thought of having to eat those for lunch and maybe perhaps even dinner, but they would have to do. At least he had some milk to wash it down with. He might have to resort to cat food another day.

A knock sounded on the door as he was about to eat his fourth, sugarcoated, deep fried, dough. He grumbled speculating that it was his landlord coming up to check on him. Much to his surprise and delight, he found the blonde nurse standing there with his bag.

"Terri!" he greeted happily.

She shoved the bag at him and walked in. "I don't have a lot of time. I'm just here on my lunch break," she told him placing a bag on the table. "I bought lunch."

"Ooh thank you! Thank you!" he said giving her a sudden peck on the cheek.

She twisted her face as if annoyed. "Yeah, yeah. You're welcome." She looked around the messy place. Somehow the boxes that had barely taken up any space, its contents now filled the room. "Where are my babies?"

"Your babies?" he asked amused that she referred to them as such. She nodded. "They're on the bed… somewhere…," he said looking over where his clothes were piled upon. "I can move everything off the bed so _we_ can get more comfortable if you'd like," he said provocatively with a sloppy grin.

Terri forced out a laugh and elbowed him in the side before making a beeline to his bed. The kittens were in the middle of the bed asleep curled up next to each other. "Aww," she cooed taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "They're so adorable. Did you name them yet?" she asked as turned her body to gently pet one of them. It caused the little black ball of fur to wake up. It stretched and shook its tiny body causing the other one to wake up, too.

Larry looked over from the table where he was opening up the lunch she brought consisting of burgers and fries. "Look what you did," Larry accused jokingly. "You don't disturb sleeping babies."

"I couldn't help it," she said with a pout.

"Before I named them, I was wondering if you wanted one."

"Really?" she asked beaming with excitement.

"Yeah which one do you want?"

"I don't know. They're identical," she said while observing them preen each other. Terri patted the space next to her on the bed. "Come here, baby," she called affectionately.

"It'd be my pleasure," Larry said in a low, husky voice as he sauntered over to her. He took a seat on the edge of the bed close behind her.

Her face promptly twisted in disgust as she cried out, "Ugh! Gross!" She quickly turned and pushed him away.

Larry hadn't realized how strong she was until he was on the floor looking up at her in total bewilderment. He got back up moaning and groaning as if he had literally been beaten up.

Terri didn't seem to notice and instead preoccupied with getting one of the kittens to go to her. Finally receiving one of the kitten's attention, it waddled on over to her. "Oh! This one likes me!" she said picking it up and rubbing her nose against its tiny little face eliciting a soft mewl from it.

"Not fair, I went over to you first!" Larry chimed.

Terri couldn't stop smiling from playing with the kitten. "Yeah, but I didn't want to take you home with me."

"Ouch?" he said.

"Plus, it's illegal to get you fixed, unlike this little guy. Isn't it, my sweet little boy?" she added cuddling and kissing the kitten.

He winced at the notion of getting fixed. He picked up the other kitten and examined it. "Looks like mine's a girl," he stated. "I'm going to call her," he paused thinking it over. "Roxanne."

"Interesting. Is that the name of a former lover?"

"You know, like the song. _Roxanne! You don't have to put on the red light. Those days are over-," _Larry began singing - off key- to the kitten.

"You mean like the prostitute?" Terri asked cutting him off.

He stopped singing. He opened his mouth to retort defensively but couldn't. "Roxy it is," he said with a shrug.

"Hi, there Roxy!" Terri greeted as she scratched its little head. "We're going to name your brother Sergio!" Terri informed Roxy delightfully.

"Wow, such a proper name for a cat," he commented, quite amused by her choice.

"My handsome boy deserves a proper name," she said defending her decision.

"If they're brother and sister, and we're their parents, does that make us a couple?" Larry asked wiggling his brows suggestively.

"Happily Divorced," Terri replied without missing a beat not bothering to look away from Sergio.

Larry frowned. She was hard to fluster.

They spent a few minutes more playing with the kittens until Terri checked her wristwatch. "I gotta eat and get going!" she said putting down the kitten and making her way over to the food. They stood by the kitchen counter and ate their meal of burger and fries, Terri all but scarfing it down.

"Listen," she said through a mouthful. "I'll be back to pick Sergio up after work around nine thirty."

Larry nodded understandingly. "Can I get your work number?"

"Of course," she said quickly walking over to her purse. "You know what? Have a business card."

Larry took the card and shoved it into his pant pocket. He looked at her sheepishly before asking, "Since you're coming back, do you mind bringing back dinner with you?"

In normal circumstances, she would've scoffed at him and told him to go buy his own dinner, but she was feeling extra generous today. Maybe getting a new pet kitten was making her soft. "Yeah sure, why not," she said with a shrug. "Hey since we're doing favors for each other, mind if I borrow one of your jackets? The hospital gets chilly."

"Yeah, sure. Take the one you like. Just make sure you don't use it wrap a bloody newborn in it or wipe snot off a little rug-rat with it," Larry advised.

Terri rolled her eyes as she looked through his pile of coats and jackets. She found a bomber jacket to her liking and took it with her.

"Walk me to my car," Terri said as she began making her way out. "Come get your luggage," she added.

* * *

I don't know where it's going but it's going…

Thanks for reading!


	3. Powerless

A/N: Gotta show that Larry is decent enough for Terri. It's gonna take a while. Please bear with me! He's not all that bad, he's just written that way…

Thanks for coming back! And thanks for those who sent in reviews! Sure makes my heart do a little dance.

* * *

**Powerless**

It was well past nine at night when Terri arrived at Larry's apartment complex. She was exhausted from her twelve-hour shift but the idea of picking up her new kitten and taking him home had her powering through. She was practically skipping up the stairs to his apartment with a box of pizza – the dinner she said she would bring.

When Larry opened the door to let her in, he greeted her dressed in his robe and pajama bottoms holding onto a large, lit candle. She was wary of his intentions and entered the apartment with caution, taking note of the random candles lit here and there.

"All ready for bed?" she commented pointing out his outfit. "Also what's with the candles? Trying to save on electricity?" she asked as she put the pizza down on the table.

Larry heaved a heavy sigh. "My power's out," he said placing the candle in his hand next to the pizza. "I thought it was because of the hurricane, turns out Mr. Zimmer didn't bother notifying the power company to keep the electricity on for me," he explained sounding quite fed up about the situation. "And well, as for being ready for bed, there's not much I can do in complete darkness than sleep," he said with an exasperated huff. Even in the dimly lit apartment, Terri saw that when Larry's gaze shifted to her, his face lit up with a randy smirk. "Well with you here, there are things _we_ can do together in the dark," he added with a suggestive wink and a nudge.

"_Larry_," she warned through gritted teeth enough to sound threatening. He immediately backed off, keeping a slight distance just in case he needed a head start to run. "Well, when _will_ you be getting power back?" Terri inquired letting his stupid comment slide.

"I used Stu's phone to call the power company and they said they'll reconnect me on Monday."

"Today's only Friday! You're going to be out of power the _entire_ weekend!" she proclaimed with concern. "No phone and no electricity? Do you even have gas?"

"Nope, had to take a cold shower."

"Pack your things, Larry. You're gonna come stay with me for the weekend," Terry announced with a flap of her arms.

"Really?" Larry asked her. She simply nodded in reply. "Oh Terri, I love ya! Mmmwah!" he shouted taking her by the shoulders and placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. "You're a godsend," he said pulling her into a hug.

Terri gave a small squeeze in return with a quick pat to the back. She was ready for the hug to be over but Larry seemed to have other ideas. "Larry?" she said wondering why he hadn't let go of her. She then felt his embrace around her slacken as his hands began to roam her back then he dared to nuzzle her neck. She quickly pulled away from him. "Just _what_ do you think _you're_ doing?" she asked folding her arms and shooting him a pointed look.

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Showing you my appreciation?" he replied with apprehension.

Terri let out a dry laugh before rolling her eyes. "Hurry up and pack your things," she ordered giving him a little shove in the arm to get him moving.

As Larry went around gathering his things, she heard rumbling from a large box and knew her kitten was in there. Her mood suddenly lightened as she made her way over to it. Peering inside, she could barely see the black kittens in the darkness, but she knew they were moving about and playing with each other. She grabbed the kittens, one in each hand, and greeted them. They meowed back at her in response and she couldn't help but giggle. Putting them back down she went around and tried to gather some of the things needed for the kittens to stay at her place as well.

…

Terri entered her apartment gleefully carrying Sergio and Roxy in her arms, excited to show them their new home. Larry trudged in behind carrying not only his things but everything Terri had bought earlier that morning for the kittens. It was sort of his punishment for having attempted to "show his appreciation" earlier.

"Oh, I'm starved," Terri said plopping herself and the kittens down onto the sofa.

"I think we left the pizza in the car," Larry observed.

Terri looked up at him with a knowing grin. "I think _you _left the pizza in the car."

He dropped his things near the doorway with a slump. Groaning, he left to go retrieve the pizza.

Terri giggled as Larry left realizing she had a lackey for a while. She let Roxy and Sergio on the floor and watched them curiously explore the place. She told the kittens to behave before going into her room to change out of her uniform and into more comfortable nightwear.

When she came back out after changing into her nightgown, Larry was already sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa as he did so. He had made himself comfortable there, already digging into the pizza and watching television.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Terri offered.

"Sure. What do you have?"

Terri tilted her head up as she thought about it. "Umm water," she finally said.

"I guess water."

She quickly disappeared into the kitchen and came back out. "Looks like I had beer," she announced bringing two cans back with her. She settled down next to Larry on the floor, handing over a can of beer.

"But what if I want water?" Larry asked. She stared at him momentarily and blinked as if she didn't quite register his words. She finally sighed about to get up and fetch him a glass of water when he stopped her. "I'm kidding. I'll have whatever my gracious hostess gives me," he said with a small grin taking a can of beer from her.

"Why are we sitting on the floor?" she wondered aloud.

"Watching Roxy and Sergio roam around," he pointed out.

She nodded understandingly as she grabbed a slice of pizza off the coffee table. "So what are we watching?" she asked before taking a bite. She had forgotten how hungry she was until that moment and her taste buds and stomach simply appreciated it making her moan in content.

Larry watched her in stunned silence. With her eyes closed and face scrunched up as she chewed she shook her head happily as if cold pizza was the most amazing thing she had ever had in her life. He couldn't decide if it was sexy or comical.

"Wow. I'd like to take you out for pizza every night," he commented watching her take another large bite and delightfully moaned again.

With a mouth full and pizza sauce on the corners of her mouth, she shot him a puzzled look and went, "huh?" his comment completely going over her head.

He shook his head, "Nothing," was all he said failing to mention the pizza sauce on her face.

The two continued to sit there observing and playing with their new furry companions while they ate and drank; the T.V. merely becoming background noise. After a while, Sergio's and Roxy's once abundant energy began to decline and Larry took them and placed them on his lap, and then slowly curled up against each other and fell asleep.

"Aww," Terri cooed. "They're so cuuute," she sang reaching out to pet them only to have Larry slap her hand away. She looked at him with her mouth agape, offended that he would do that to her.

"Don't wake up the babies, they need their rest," he chided.

She stuck out her tongue at him before promptly ignoring him and scratching one of the kitten's head. They were too tired to be bothered by her ministrations and remained asleep.

"Hey, watch where you put your hands. If you get too friendly…," Larry couldn't help but tease with a wiggle of his eyebrows earning him a light swat to his chest.

Terri was getting tired, too. Her eyelids felt heavy but she didn't want to go to bed just yet. She rested her head against Larry's shoulder as she continued to pet the kittens.

Larry noticed that Terri had stopped caressing the kittens and her hand dropped into his lap, her breathing- a little heavier. She had fallen asleep. Larry was trapped with kittens and Terri sleeping on him. He couldn't help but chuckle at his circumstances.

He had thought he'd be out partying on the beaches of Hawaii but instead, he was spending a quiet night in.

…

Terri woke up to the smell of coffee and heard some singing and she wondered where it came from. She got up and out of bed, threw on her fluffy robe and went to go find the source of it all.

She walked into the kitchen to see Larry at the stove singing and actually cooking something. His singing wasn't terrible, but it wasn't all that great either.

"Wow, you're up early," she stated as she strolled up to him.

Larry turned to look at her and couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. A disheveled Terri with a mop of tangled blonde hair, a blob of eye crust, and remnants of pizza sauce still on her face stood before him. "You would be too if you had two kittens swiping at your face because they're hungry," he stated nodding in their direction.

Terri looked over at them before turning her attention back to Larry's cooking. "Mmm smells wonderful. What are you making?"

"My version of French toast," he said flipping it in the pan.

"You know how to cook?"

"I can make breakfast. Gotta keep the ladies happy in the morning," he answered with a wink.

"Is that why you never have a second date?" she quipped as she grabbed a plate and took a couple of French toast that he had finished making.

"I wake up and feed the kittens. Make you a fantastic breakfast and yet you insult me," he laments as if he had been mortally wounded. "If you're going to do that then you shouldn't eat what I've prepared," he said trying to take her plate away from her.

"No, no. I'm sorry," she apologized with a pout while getting away from him. She took a seat at her kitchen table and began digging in. "Ohhh, Larry," she gushed after taking a bite. "That's pretty good."

"Pretty good?" he repeated with displeasure. He finished up making French toast and took a seat across from her at the table.

"You're no Jack Tripper," she says stuffing another bite into her mouth.

Larry scoffed. "Well then. See if I ever make you breakfast again." He began to eat his own breakfast when one of the kittens after having had their breakfast attempted to climb up his legs. He bent down and scooped it up. "Good morning to you… Roxy," he greets before placing a kiss on its black, tiny, little, head. He takes bits of his toasts and lets Roxy try it. Taking her with him he goes and pours milk for her and brings it back to the table.

Terri observed him as she ate her breakfast, amused by how much he catered to the little kitten. She lets out a thoughtful, "huh".

"What?" Larry asked looking up from Roxy.

"It's kinda weird," she says. He gives her a questioning glance at her statement. "I never thought of you as the nurturing type, yet here you are, being so attentive to the kittens," she said following it up.

With a smug look on his face, he said to her, "Makes you think huh?"

"About what?"

"Making a baby with me," he replied with a wink.

He expected her to roll her eyes and yell at him. But instead he sees her blue eyes light up and she bites her bottom lip as if to keep herself from smiling widely.

"Do you mean it, Larry?" she asked, her voice sounded hopeful.

He raised a brow at her, confused by her question.

"I've wanted to settle down and start a family for sooo long now," she said reaching over and taking his hand in hers. "And if you're offering…" she trailed off meeting his frightened gaze.

"What?" his voice cracked.

"We can go down to city hall and get married," she suggested as she brings his hand up and gently stroked the length of his ring finger.

"Oh hey. Yo. Time out," he took his hand away from hers and made a T with his hands.

"We can get started on making a family right away! Maybe two or three kids? Huh what do you say?" she said with a wink resting her chin on her propped hand.

Larry saw his life flash before his eyes. "I – I- I-," he began stuttering.

Terri began to laugh. She had really scared him with the intent of marriage and having kids. "Shut up and finish your breakfast."

Realizing she had been kidding, he let out a sigh of relief, clutching his chest trying to calm his heart that had been beating rapidly from fear. He looked over at Roxy who had milk all over her face. Let's get you clean up," he said wiping her with a kitchen towel. "We don't wanna have milk on our face like mommy does with pizza sauce, now do we?"

"Mommy?"

He hadn't realized that had slipped out. "You call them babies. You're their mom."

Her hand went to her face, and sure enough, there was marinara sauce crusted to her face. Her face twisted looking at it. "_Now_ you tell me? I had pizza sauce all last night and you-," she paused midway remembering she was on the floor petting the kittens last night but woke up that morning in her own bed. "How did I get to bed?"

"I had to carry you- no- drag you to bed. You know you fight in your sleep?"

"Oh," she shot him a sheepish glance. "I'm sorry. And uh thank you," she said going back to eating.

As they finished up their breakfast, Sergio whined, begging to get up on the table with his sister. Terri obliged and picked him up.

He noticed that she was blushing and avoiding eye contact. Somehow that he had carried her to bed embarrassed her. Not the sexual innuendos or comments or even pizza sauce from last night on her face, but instead the simple gesture of helping her to bed. He found it kind of endearing that she was like that.

"Hey you know," Larry said as he took his plate to the sink. "We should go to the pet store today and get proper things for Roxy and Sergio."

Terri nodded along. "I have to get groceries, too. How about we just make it a day of running errands?"

"I have a date tonight," Larry mentioned as he took her plate and put it in the sink.

"What? How?" Terri asked, surprised. He had been in Hawaii less than forty-eight hours and already had a date.

"Yesterday, when I went out and got candles at a corner store, there was this gorgeous babe. Oh, she had an amazing body! The hour-figure on her, mmmwa." He said mimicking the chef kiss. "She had a set of," his hand coming up to represent huge breasts.

"Ok, I get it!"

"Jealous?"

"No, disgusted. She's not a piece of meat you know? Women don't appreciate being talked about like that," Terri chided.

"They're compliments," he retorted.

"No, they're derogatory! How would you like it if I talked to someone else about your butt, and abs, and … other parts, in detail?" she said gesturing to his lower half.

"Depends. Do you think they're great?"

Terri groaned. "You're hopeless," she waved a hand dismissively. "Anyways, you don't have a car or a place with electricity. What do you plan on doing with this girl?"

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then he shut it. "I don't know." He seemed to dwell on it. "Can you pick her up then drop us off at my place, then swing back around midnight-,"

"NO! I am not your chauffeur."

"Can I bring her here?" Larry asked earnestly.

"And what do you suppose I do?"

"Fine then. What do you suppose _we_ do?" He said gesturing vaguely.

"We don't do anything. I'm not going to chaperone your date!"

Larry huffed. "Can I borrow your car?"

"No."

"Oh C'mon Terri! It's not like you're going anywhere tonight. Are you?"

Terri sighed. "Fine," she said giving in.

She never expected that Larry moving to Hawaii meant she would end up haviing to contemplate on his dating life.

* * *

Thanks for reading!


	4. Delphinium

A/N: This was an unexpected chapter. I think I'm just going for pure fluff now. I don't know what I'm doing. Send help  
I'm like so sorry that this is currently the only Larry and Terri fic. Like so sorry there aren't other options out there.

_Time to __**R**_ock_**&**__**R**_oll_! _Please and thank you in advance.

* * *

**Delphinium**

Terri hopped into the shower, the warm water doing wonders for her tense muscles. As she showered, she let her mind drift to earlier in the morning. She hadn't had a roommate in over a year since moving to Hawaii and it was pleasant to have someone at the morning table to talk to. Even if it was Larry— though she had to admit he wasn't as annoying as she thought he'd be, he had made breakfast after all. She missed her roommates back in Santa Monica; Jack and Janet were just such a delight to be around.

She wondered what those two were up to. Probably being ridiculously in love and planning their wedding, the thought made her smile. She couldn't believe how long it took them to finally come to terms with their feelings for one another. Lathering shampoo into her hair, she wondered if Jack and Janet had almost missed their opportunity to be with each other.

A thought occurred to her: maybe _she_ had missed her opportunity. How many men had been in and out of her life and one of them could have possibly been "the one". She hoped not because they all sucked. She was getting tired of the process of having to get to know someone, then having to pretend to be a certain type of woman before being comfortable enough to reveal her true self. There was also the men revealing their true selves, and she wasn't too keen on that either. _Men_. They were so much work and she was tired of dealing with dirtbags— dirtbags like Larry.

_Larry_. Terri had written him off since the first day she met him and it had remained that way. He didn't exactly improve as a human being throughout the years she had gotten to know him. Always scheming and looking for the quick and easy way, be it acquiring women or money. And yet, she was running around trying to make things easier on his life in Hawaii. She should just let him perish in his stupidity. She would be doing the population of Oahu a service— especially the women.

But he wasn't all that bad, she decided as she recalled all the times the three of them (Jack, Janet and herself) had enlisted in his help and he would come through. She remembered he had pretended to be Janet's husband for her sake. He had however made her look like an absolute fool more than once: like when she moved in and he helped Jack prank her or the time Larry told her to be extra flirtatious with Jack because he had been dumped. Come to think of it, both times he was looking out in the interest of his best friend. But that wasn't an excuse for how he had hurt her; she had forgiven him… to a degree. The fact remained, there were plenty of other troubles he had caused. Larry was a handful. At least back in Los Angeles, she had the help of two roommates when dealing with him, but now she was on her own meant she was going to be extra meticulous about keeping her guard up.

She heard loud knocking and her name being called, pulling her out of her thoughts. The knocking continued and she hurriedly rinsed herself off, rung her hair, wrapped a towel around herself and made her way out. She could hear Larry call her once again from outside. It had slipped her mind that he had gone for a morning jog after breakfast.

"I'm coming!" she yelled as she quickly made her way over to open the door. Being a single woman, she had the habit of locking her door at all times and in the process had locked him out.

He stood bent over at the waist, huffing, and puffing and drenched in sweat at the door, trying to catch his breath. That was until he saw her in merely a towel and still wet from the shower. The little breath he had managed to catch was instantly knocked out of him. He quickly stood up straight. An astonished "wow" escaped his lips at the sight of her.

"Hurry up and get in," Terri commended tired of standing at the door. "What if the babies got out?"

He staggered into the apartment, ready to collapse on the couch.

"NO!" he heard her yell at him. "Oh, no. You are _not_ going to sit on my couch all sweaty." She stood there with her hands on her hips looking annoyed as her wet blonde locks clung to her elegant long neck and her long shapely legs remained in perfect view. He was too entranced by her to comprehend what she was saying and he plopped down on the couch. "LARRY!" she yelled and proceeded to yank him up by the arm.

He was standing again, face to face with her in close proximity. He was met intense, blue eyes glaring at him and for a moment he felt like she saw right into him, all of him. Larry found it both daunting and- dare he say- hot. Remembering she was merely in a towel, his eyes traveled down meaning to take a peek at her cleavage, but instead, Larry was stuck gazing at her pink, luscious lips which were pursed in annoyance. He wondered if he could just lean forward and–

And suddenly he was being ushered towards the bathroom and pushed in.

"Hurry up and shower. We have to go shopping for the kittens and I also have to get groceries," Terri told him as she shoved him into the bathroom.

Larry found himself standing in there as the door shut behind him. He let out a tired sigh as he kicked off his running shoes. Terri didn't stand for his nonsense and took matters into her own hands. He'd bet that if she had her way, Terri probably would've stripped him down and started bathing him herself- which he wouldn't have minded.

A knock sounded on the door just as he was taking off his tracksuit. Terri didn't bother to wait for his response and entered the bathroom.

"Here's a towel," she said handing it over to him unceremoniously.

As he took the towel he took a huge step forward so that they were mere inches apart. His arm slipped around her waist as an amused grin made its way to his lips. "You know, if you wanted to join me in the shower, all you had to do was ask," his voice low and gruff. He puckered his lips suggestively and bobbed his head with a raised brow.

She laughed derisively right before her expression turned serious. Terri then flashed a terse smile following it with a stomp on his foot. His eyes widened in pain and his mouth opened but not a sound came out. Her hair whipped around and hit him in the face as she turned on her heels and left, leaving him limping in pain as he tried to walk it off.

When Larry had finished taking his shower, he came out of the bathroom and he heard hearty laughter coming from Terri's room. Curiosity getting to him, he made his way over to her room. When he got there, sadly for him, he saw that she had already changed out of her towel and was in a soft, blue robe. She stood next to her bed with a hairdryer pointing it at the kittens on her bed.

"What's going on here?" He asked as he folded his arms and leaned against the door frame.

"Look! Look!" she turned the hairdryer on to the lowest setting and pointed it at the kittens. He saw one of them swiping at the stream of warm air and the other one hiss at it. Terri went into another fit of laughter turning off the dryer. Larry joined in on the laughter and entered the room.

Terri finally looked at Larry and noticed he was the one now who was merely in a towel. His towel wrapped around low on his hip, almost too low. She couldn't help but take note just how toned Larry was. She hadn't expected that. Not. At. All. She quickly averted her gaze and had drawn her lips between her teeth as to not look so amused; there was no point in boosting his already enormous ego.

He took a seat on the edge of her bed and one of the black little balls of fluff ran up to him. It turned out to be his Roxy. She attempted to climb on to his lap and he scooped her right up. "Poor babies," he cooed cuddling it. "Is mommy scaring you? I know she's terrifying."

"I was not!" she cried in defense. "They're not scared; they were ready to fight back! They're feisty," she proclaimed quite proudly.

Larry looked up at her. "Like a certain blonde I know," he said pointedly.

Terri didn't know how to receive the compliment. Instead, she opted to turn the hairdryer on and blew it his face, causing him to wince quickly. But then he relished in it, tilting his head up and moving it around. "I needed my hair dried anyways," he said as if he had one-upped her.

Terri moved closer to towards Larry and ran her fingers through his dark, wet locks as she angled the hairdryer in their direction. It took him by surprise as she began drying his hair. She stood so close that his view was mostly of the blue robe that clung divinely against her body, the fabric gently moving with her breathing. His sense of smell was caressed by just the slightest whiff of jasmine from whatever she had put on coupled with something uniquely Terri reminding him of cool summer evenings.

"Go on. Continue playing with the kittens," she told him. "I'll dry your hair or else we're never going to get out of here."

He glanced up at her face and felt his heartbeat slightly quicken. She had marvelous cheekbones that drew his gaze up to her shimmering blue eyes. He always did try to ask her out, that was nothing new. She was gorgeous and quite enticing; what man could resist? At that moment he found himself to be nervous, which wasn't like him. When it came to women he was quite confident in his ways. Even if they did shoot him down it simply meant he'd move on to someone else, it was never a big deal. But for some reason, Terri had always left some sort of lingering impression on him.

He was drawn out of his musings when Sergio pawed at his hand, demanding his attention. He looked down at him and smiled. "Hey there, Sergio," Larry said while lightly scratching under its chin. Sergio squinted, his little eyes closed seeming to enjoy ministration, much like how Larry was enjoying the feeling of Terri's nails and how they gently raked against his scalp as she continued blow-drying.

Roxy began to get a little antsy in his clutches and he let her down allowing her to run around on the bed. It made Terri chuckle. "Roxy has so much energy. She's going to be a handful," she commented as the corners of her eyes crinkled in amusement.

They went back to comfortable silence as he sat there getting his hair dried and petting Sergio. He allowed his mind to wander only to find himself trying to make sense of his quickened heartbeat from simply having Terri close, wondering what made this time different than any other time he had been near her. Maybe it was because this time she initiated it, unlike all the previous times when it was him pulling her in so he could cop a feel.

Larry could freely admit that he often found himself claiming to have fallen in love with the next pretty face he saw; he always did fancy himself as a lover and not a fighter. And so he concluded that this was just that. Larry reasoned that he had a fleeting moment where he found himself in love with Terri and it would pass after he found the next pretty face to move on to.

"_What,_" she hummed upon noticing that he wasn't just lost in thought but in fact staring at her.

He shook his head as if to say "nothing". He felt like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have, quickly averting his gaze down at Sergio, still in his lap, enjoying the attention. Then he felt it, a small sting at the top of his head. "_Ow_!" he yelped looking up at Terri in confusion, causing Sergio to scurry away. "What was that for?" he whined rubbing his head.

Her eyes twinkled as she gave the simple explanation, "I plucked out a grey hair."

"I do _not_ have a grey hair!" he protested quite upset by the information. He quickly got up and ran over to the vanity mirror to check his hair.

She rolled her eyes. She knew he'd fuss over his appearance. "It's one hair, Larry. Now get out so I can change."

As Larry left her room with a slumped posture, he pouted and grumbled under his breath, "I do _not_ have grey hairs."

…

Terri went around tidying up her apartment as Larry got ready for his date that evening. She could hear him singing Sinatra and she bobbed her head right along to the "live music".

She had found that their day of running errands had been quite enjoyable, especially their visit to the pet shop. Having brought the kittens with them it was a joy to watch their furry companions look around and observe their surrounding in wonder. Who knew that the two of them would splurge on their new pets; having bought: collars, cat carriers, cat tree houses, cat beds, litter boxes, food bowls, food, and toys. Larry had bought so many toys for his Roxy it made Terri wonder how much of a pampered, spoiled cat it would become. Larry didn't just purchase a regular, plain cat collar as she had done for Sergio either. He opted to go all out with bows and ribbons.

Those bows and ribbons were cute but as Terri observed the kittens play with their new toys in her living room, she saw that Roxy was bothered by her new accessories. The kitten constantly tried to swipe it off. Terri picked up Roxy and brought it up to look at it face to face.

"I'm sorry but your dad likes to go overboard. He's… excessive," she explained to the kitten and it began nibbling at her hand in return. Terri chuckled at the coincidence. "Alright, alright. I won't say anything bad about your dad anymore," she said letting the fidgeting kitten back down. "At least not to you," she added under her breath as if Roxy would hear and understand.

"_You're just too good to be true_," Larry came out into the living room singing into a hairbrush. "_I can't take my eyes off of you,_" he sang another line before pointing the hairbrush at Terri offering her the substitute "mike" to sing into.

Terri clasped her hand over his. "_I love you baby!" _she shouted the lyrics, high pitched and off-key.

Larry grimaced and yanked the hairbrush away from her. "Nooo," he said turning away.

Shocked and offended by his reaction, Terri stood there with her hand on her hips, mouth agape and brows knitted. "I'm not _that_ bad!" she protested.

He raised his brows, drawling out a sarcastic "sure" as he placed the hairbrush on the coffee table.

Terri let out an annoyed huff.

"Anyways, do I look sexy?" he asked with a grin and open arms showing off his outfit.

Terri replied with a flat out "no" she wasn't going to pay him a compliment if he couldn't even humor her about her singing.

He feigned being hurt by her words but quickly recovered. "Do you have the directions?" he asked her.

After they had arrived home from running errands that day, Terri had the responsibility of prepping him for his date. It was like they were studying for a test. The road atlas splayed out on the coffee table with Terri's various drawings of roads and directions making it easier on Larry to comprehend. She had provided him restaurants, clubs, pubs, movie theaters and even places to go dancing. He had grumbled about how his date would be able to show him around but had Terri insisted that he had directions at his disposal, just in case his date ditches him somewhere.

"Yup!" she said grabbing the stack of paper with directions from the coffee table and handed them over to him.

"Great!" he chimed as he looked through them only taking two and handing back the rest.

"Aren't you going to take these?"

"I only need the directions to her place and the flower shop," he said pocketing the directions.

"Well, at least I was able to show you where I worked today, so you can go to the hospital if she decides to break your arm for being too handsy."

Larry ignored her comment, straightening out his coat and checking his pockets to make sure he had everything. He looked at Terri with a cheesy smile. "May I please have your car keys?" he asked politely.

"Yeah sure," she said retrieving them from a hook next to the door. Just as she was about to hand them over, she snatched them right back. "Wait. You have to promise me that you won't be doing anything naked and sexual in my car."

He smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"

"_Larry_!" she said warningly.

He had a pensive look on his face as he asked, "What about on _top_ of the car?"

"_Larry!_" she wailed with a stomp of her foot. She was beginning to apprehensive about lending out her car to him.

"Yeah, yeah I promise. Yeesh," he said which allowed him to finally receive the keys from her. "Thank you," he sung jingling the keys. "Ok well bye. Don't wait up," said with a wink before he walked out the door.

"Looks like it's just us," she said turning to the kittens, but they ignored her as they continued playing.

Terri decided it was time to get dinner ready. She may have done her grocery shopping but after opening her freezer she decided to pop in a TV dinner into the microwave. As her food heated up she grabbed a can of cat food and their shiny new food bowls. Placing the food into their bowls, she felt like a chef plating food. Jack would kill her if she told him that. She missed Jack's cooking she realized as she looked at the microwave heating up her sad TV dinner.

She didn't even need to call the kittens over for they were already next to her foot awaiting their dinner as soon as they heard the can being opened. She watched them eat for a bit and decided to take off Roxy's exorbitant accessory. The kitten happily shook its tiny body as it came off of her. She realized even though Sergio only had a simple collar, he didn't seem to enjoy it much either and helped him out of it so he could be comfortable as he ate.

Terri soon heard the rain begin to fall the noise steadily increased as the rain came pouring down. She wondered what Larry had planned for a rainy date. She hoped it didn't involve certain activities in her car.

The microwave dinged, taking her out of her thoughts. She took her dinner out into the living room so she could eat it while watching some television the way it was intended to be consumed. Before she got comfortable on the couch she decided to change into her nightgown and robe. She wanted to laze around and stuff her face as she watched TV comfortably.

It wasn't long before she was halfway through her dinner. The lights were off, she was curled up on the couch and absolutely engrossed into a show about home invasion and murders. That's when she heard the handle jiggle. Quickly checking the time, she knew it couldn't be Larry returning from his date, he had been gone less than an hour. Her eyes grew wide as she heard the lock click. Grabbing the nearest object, for her sadly it was a throw pillow, she quickly jumped up and went to go push the door closed but she was too late.

The door opened and as soon as the person walked in Terri began attacking the intruder with the pillow. She didn't let up not wanting to give the person a chance to retaliate.

The intruder had cowered and had their arms up trying to shield themselves from her attacks. "Stop! It's me! It's me, Larry," she heard them claim.

She eased up on her assault and finally stopped, but couldn't help but give one more playful, but hard whack when she realized indeed it was Larry. She let out a sigh of relief. "What are you doing back?"

He stood up straight and regained his composure, smoothing out his clothes with one hand while his other hand held onto a bouquet of flowers. "I didn't feel like going. It's raining hard and I'm not familiar with the roads," he explained.

She scoffed incredulously and then said, "You? Pass up a date because of a little water?"

He flashed a half-smile. "I bought you flowers," he said handing over the bouquet of blue delphiniums and white lilies.

"Aww. For me? Thank you," her voice full of sarcasm as she accepted the flowers. "They're your date's rejects, huh? She turned you down huh? Huh?" she questioned nudging him as he walked over to her phone which was placed on a small table next to her couch.

"No. She didn't turn me down. In fact, I have to call her right now and tell her I'm canceling," he said picking up the receiver. "So if you please," his way of telling her to get lost.

Terri's face twisted in annoyance and she left to go put the flowers in a vase. She came back out with the flowers and placed them in the middle of the coffee table. She sat on the couch next to him resuming on watching her show whilst eavesdropping on his conversation. It was ridiculous how smooth he was being, telling the woman on the other end of the line how he missed her smile and what not. How much he wanted to be there but simply couldn't, how much it hurt him to not be there. The exaggerated, cheesy conversation was enough to make Terri wretch.

"So you were watching something about murderers and home invasions?" he asked upon hanging up.

Terri nodded.

"Is that why you got all scared and started hitting me?" she could hear the smirk in his voice.

"No," she replied. "I knew it was you and decided you needed a good smack."

"Ha. Ha."

She looked at the flowers sat on the table. They were in the way of the TV. She got up and moved the vase to the side. "Hmm. These flowers kinda match my robe," Terri said with amusement as she took some of her robe's material between her fingers and compared it against the delphinium.

Larry already knew that. While browsing in the flower shop he saw the delphinium flowers and they instantly reminded him of the blue robe she wore. How he could only seem to remember the way it moved with every movement she made while drying his hair. The memory stuck. She stuck. He couldn't push her out of his thoughts as he made the purchase. As the lady at the register asked him if he had wanted to write anything on the small card for the bouquet he told her to write "For the lovely," and he found himself drawing a blank on the name of the woman he was supposed to have a date with. He ended up telling the lady at the register to put in Terri's name.

While he was driving to his date, Larry's thoughts had flittered back to the blonde nurse who was constantly ordering him around and manhandling him. That's when he decided that he no longer wanted to go on his date. Turning back around, Larry drove back to Terri's apartment.

"So, dinner," Terri asked.

"I thought you were going to cook?"

"Do you really want to eat my cooking?"

"Good point. I guess I'll take a microwaveable dinner."

"Ok I'll go make it for ya," she offered and left to the kitchen.

Larry sighed as he changed the channel to something with less murder. He felt a tug at his pant legs and saw a black kitten trying to climb up.

"Where are their collars?" Larry yelled picking up the kitten.

"I took them off so they could be comfortable while eating," Terri shouted back from the kitchen.

Maybe he came back because he just wanted to spend the evening playing with his new kitten.

Larry's hand went into his coat pocket and he felt the small card from the bouquet. He had pocketed it right before entering her apartment.

Yeah, the new kittens…

* * *

I keep forgetting that on fan fiction we interact in the author's note! So-

Aaah! Thanks for the reviews, lovelies.

Guest who mentioned that Larry is a "badass with a good heart" and Richard Kline did a great job with it- totally, I 100% agree. I would never be able to ship Terri and Larry if I didn't think Larry had some redeemable qualities. Oh, and of course, I adore Richard. (have we talked before?)

Guest who totally gave me a huge compliment and it has now gone to my head, *finger guns* you're now my favorite person on fanfiction! Heck, the world. Thanks for the validation.

_((Are you guys the same guest?)) _

Thank you for reading. I love you


	5. Strumming

A/N: I guess I'm not writing for the void after all! If you're returning, thanks, you sexy beast!

* * *

**Strumming**

Sunday morning was another morning in which Terri got to wake up to Larry's singing and his breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. She sat at the kitchen table and worked on cutting up her scrambled eggs into smaller pieces and it was starting to annoy Larry.

"Woman, will you just eat," Larry said having finally had enough.

She scrunched up her face at him. She knew it was an annoying habit of hers but she simply couldn't help it. "So, what are your plans for today?" Terri asked before taking a bite of her practically mushed scrambled eggs.

"I don't have any."

"You didn't reschedule your date for today or anything?" she asked curiously.

"Nope, I said I'd call her later when I'm more settled."

"Oh. The old brush off, huh? What? Not naïve enough for you?"

"Maybe I wanted to take someone else out tonight."

Terri scoffed. "You sure move fast. What happened? Pick someone else up at the flower shop?" she asked pointedly.

"No," he replied. He sipped his coffee and watched as she ate. She was working on her bacon now and for some reason, she didn't cut that up but simply stuffed it into her mouth. Despite not having bothered to get made up after waking up and her curt attitude towards him, he still found her to be pleasing company. Larry decided it wouldn't hurt to at least try to pursue her. "Have dinner with me tonight," Larry requested rather than ask.

"No," she was quick to reject him, not even bothering to take the tiniest amount of time to ponder over it nor swallow her food.

"_Why not_," he whined. "You got a boyfriend or something?" He rested his chin on the palm of his propped hand as he awaited her answer. Larry noticed the way Terri's lips lightly tugged at the corners. She refused to meet his accusing gaze and tried to hide the smile by taking a sip of her coffee. "Oh so that's it," he teased lightly.

When she felt that she had regained her composure she cleared her throat and retorted with an air of irritation. "Just because I turn you down, doesn't mean I have a boyfriend. You're not god's gift to women, Larry. Most women wouldn't what you're offering."

"What _am_ I offering?"

Terri tilted her head and narrowed her eyes as at him as if somehow that would project a typical date with the Larry Dallas into her mind's eye.

Larry, on the other hand, found himself feeling a tad bit uneasy under her unwavering glare.

"Disappointment," she deadpanned.

For a moment Larry looked offended by her answer, but he quickly placed a sly grin on his face and reached across the table taking her hand in his and running his thumb gently over her knuckles. "Let me prove you wrong," Larry said in a low, husky voice.

With a disgusted frown, Terri withdrew her hand from his and wiped it on the material of her robe as if he had cooties. "No."

He gave up. Instead, he looked at Terri through hooded eyes as he posed a question, "Won't your boyfriend mind that we've been spending nights alone together?"

She did it again. Hiding the smile that wanted to grace her lips at the mention of the word, "boyfriend". "One look at you with your beady eyes and smarmy appearance," she huffed, "anybody with half a brain would know I have no interest in you."

"So he won't mind if you go out on a date with me then," he claimed with as if that was the only thing stopping Terri from going out with him. "Assuming he has half a brain," he couldn't help but add under his breath which Terri did not miss.

"What makes you so certain I have a boyfriend?"

"Because you'd be all over me if you didn't," he said earning an exasperated look from Terri. "Nah," he recanted. "Every time I say 'boyfriend' you perk up just a little," Larry stated matter of fact.

"What's it to ya?"

At that moment he wasn't sure himself. He was teasing about her having a boyfriend while at the same time he was trying to convince her to have a date with him. "Just wanted to see how much convincing would be needed," he replied coolly.

Terri was repulsed by his statement. "Women don't want to be harassed, _especially_ after we've already told you time and time again to be left alone."

"Then what _do_ you want?"

Sounding as sweet as possible Terri replied, "You: six feet under." She batted her eyelashes and forced an eerie grin.

Larry guessed it was time for him to throw in the towel; she wouldn't let up not even a little. "So, why won't you tell me about your boyfriend?"

"Because… I don't have one."

"So you _like_ this guy then?"

There was that smile again, but this time she didn't bother to hide it. "Fine, Larry. If you want to know so much…" She took a moment to gather her thoughts, trying to figure out where to start. "I'm not sure what we are. We haven't gone out on any official dates. We have grabbed a few late-night dinners— more like I run into him after my shift ends late at night and we grab junk food. That's about it for now."

"He's a doctor?"

"No, he's an admin manager."

"That's weird. Why would he work so late?" Larry wondered.

It had never really crossed her mind. The rest of admin usually worked the regular nine to five. "I don't know you'd have to ask him."

"Maybe he's staying late for you?" Larry proposed.

Terri's face lit up. "You think?" she asked sounding hopeful.

Larry thought about it but didn't answer her question. "I have seen you flirt plenty of times," he said after a while.

She cocked a brow at him wondering where he was going with this.

"You're not coy," he stated. "You're a natural if I do say so myself."

"Why, thank you. What an esteemed compliment coming from Mr. Casanova himself," she responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well… if he hasn't caught on, he's either really stupid or he doesn't like you romantically," Larry gathered. "Maybe he's already involved?"

"Oh, that's great. Perfect," she grumbled full cynicism.

"Well now that you know, you should give up on him," Larry suggested with levity. "I'm still here," he offered, deciding to give it one last push.

Terri grimaced at him with disgust. "Finish your breakfast," Terri advised through gritted teeth.

…

Terri was wiped. She simply plopped herself down onto Larry's bed and laid there with an arm covering her eyes. The two had spent the better half of the day getting Larry settled in at his apartment and running around buying necessary things for the household.

She had to admit that for a bachelor, Larry wasn't the stereotypical lazy guy who didn't know how to take care of himself. Having gone shopping with him she realized just how particular he was about what he needed and wanted. She had almost killed him in the laundry aisle at the grocery store when he and the poor customer service rep. went in search of a particular brand and scent for his fabric softener. In fact, that was more tiring than anything, putting up with his pickiness on his trek for what he wanted.

She laid there and listened as Larry hummed and sang while working on setting up Roxy's cat treehouse. It was somewhat relaxing and she must've had dozed off because the next thing she knew, she was being shaken gently and told to wake up by Larry.

She quickly sat up and was met with a darkened apartment only a few candles illuminated the place.

"Oh wow, what time is it?" she asked stretching her arms above over her head.

"I think it's almost six," Larry replied taking a seat next to her on the bed.

She frowned. "I feel bad," Terri said out of the blue.

"About turning me down for a date," he joked with a nudge to her side.

She side-eyed him. "No." Terri sighed and heaved her shoulders. "It's just… we left Sergio and Roxy all by themselves."

"They're going to have to get used to it when we go back to work."

"They won't even have each other!" Terri cried upon realization.

"I'll take care of them tomorrow," Larry offered.

"I don't have work tomorrow."

"Oh?"

"I was actually thinking I could take them to the vet tomorrow."

"I have to wait for the power and gas company," Larry said with a sigh.

"What time are they coming?" she asked as she got up from the bed and started wandering around the studio apartment and getting nosy.

"I tried to schedule all of them before eleven a.m. Hopefully, they all show up before then," Larry explained as he leaned back onto his hands and watched Terri pick things up and put them back down. He saw her spot his guitar in the corner and she made her way over.

Terri picked up the guitar and jokingly strummed it. "That's fine. It's a Monday, I'm sure the vet office won't be _that_ busy with most people at work. We can probably go a little bit later in the day," she said with a shrug before strumming the guitar again.

Larry nodded understandingly. "Hey, bring that over here," he told her. "I'll teach you a few cords."

She happily walked over with the guitar and handed it over to him. Terri took a seat and watched as a strummed the guitar a bit and turned the pegs a bit to tune it.

"Alright, scooch on over," he commanded. He bent his leg and scooted back a bit on the bed and allowed Terri to sit a little more in front of him. He placed the guitar on her lap, his left arm went behind her, and he took hold of her left hand and brought it up to the neck of the guitar.

Terri felt him pull on the guitar against her causing her to lean back into his hard chest. She felt him place his chin on her right shoulder so that he could get a better view of the guitar. She tilted her head left, her ponytail falling over to the side in the process, as she gave him more room. But as he instructed her on where to place her fingers, Terri found herself suppressing a shiver which was elicited by the caress his hot breath against her skin.

Larry felt Terri stiffen within his arms and assumed she didn't like the fact that he was holding her. "So the first chord is G," he said. As he turned his head and looked over to their hands at the fingerboard he was met with her the delicate skin of her exposed neck. It took all of his self-control not to bury his face into the crook of her neck and start showering the area with kisses. He took a deep breath trying to calm himself.

He moved her fingers so it held the correct position as he strummed. "The next is D," he said moving her fingers again and strummed.

"It's hard to keep the strings pressed down," she noted aloud.

"You have the strongest hands. I would know you use them to assault me all the time," he teased, earning a jab to his stomach from her free hand. He continued to show her the next two notes, C and E minor, repeating the process.

Terri did her best to learn the four chords and not put focus on how his lips almost brushed up against her as he spoke. Once Larry was satisfied that she remembered them, he had her hold down the chords while he strummed for them.

"G- _it's late in the evening_\- D," he coached her on the chord before singing a line and strumming along. "_she's- _C-_ wondering_ _what- _D-_ clothes to wear._"

Terri audibly gasped as she realized the song they were playing and took a glance at Larry who nodded, confirming to her that it was the song that she thought; "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton.

Larry continued to coach, sing, and strum. "G- _She puts on_ -D- _her makeup_ C- _and brushes_ –D- _her long blonde hair_ -C- _And then -_D- _she asks me_, G- _Do I look_ –E minor_– all right_?"

Terri turns her head and looks at Larry, she had forgotten how to play E minor, and that's when her blue eyes met the heated gaze of Larry's dark, brown eyes. And in that brief moment, Terri finds her breath hitched in the back of her throat.

Larry had stopped strumming but continued to sing, "_And I say yes… you look wonderful tonight_."

Time seemed to stand still as they stayed frozen with their gazes locked on each other.

Larry found himself leaning towards her, and he sees that her eyes fluttering shut until-

He heard a stomach growl. Terri's eyes flew back open. She smiled before she started giggling. "Oh, I guess I'm hungry! Or was that you?" she said through laughter.

Larry snapped out of it. He moved the guitar and placed it behind them. He cleared his throat. "Doesn't matter, I'm hungry."

"Good, I'm starved." Terri patted his knee and got up. "Let's pick something up and head back to my place. Gotta feed Sergio and Roxy, too!"

…

Guest who mentioned Frankie Valli! Totally, Larry seems like he'd listen to his music! Haha I knew should've checked to see who originally sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You", but I just went with what knew.

Guest who wants to see Larry sing to Terri, he probably won't be singing this song again, but he _might be _(assuming I can stick to my plan) singing to Terri a little something. I do love that Larry loves to sing.

Thanks for the reviews, babes!


	6. Numbers

A/N: Aloha! Thanks for coming back (or skipping to chapter six for some reason).

* * *

**Numbers**

Larry didn't get much sleep. He had spent the night lying awake on the couch finding it suddenly uncomfortable. He could've sworn he saw the desire in Terri's eyes when he was teaching her how to play the guitar, and now, he was just kicking himself that he hadn't taken advantage of it. With most girls he wouldn't have let them get away, he would've done the absolute most to ensure that their night would progress into some sort of tryst. But with Terri… he was left dumbfounded. All thoughts had seemed to flee from his mind and he was left merely sitting there. Maybe he was losing his touch.

He got up quite early. The morning sun had barely peeked over the horizon. The kittens were still asleep, curled up between his leg and the back of the sofa; usually, they were the first to wake, demanding their breakfast. He made sure not to disturb them when he got up. He prepped breakfast for two, again; something he didn't have the habit of doing unless he was trying to please one of his dates after a night of fun. Putting on a fresh pot of coffee and making omelets, his mind strayed back to the blonde nurse who was generous enough to help him out the past few days. Suddenly, he felt like his heart was beating a little and his stomach felt jittery. Even with the lack of a fitful night's rest, he seemed to be teeming with energy at the moment. He placed the breakfast he had made on the table and decided he needed to go for a run to get rid of the excess energy, clear his mind, and possibly reset himself.

Just before he left, Larry made sure the kittens' bowls had food and water, he then scrawled a note for Terri mentioning that he had gone for his usual jog.

…

Terri woke up to the smell of coffee and the lack of Larry's usual morning singing. She didn't want to get up and face him just yet. But what was there to face? '_Nothing'_ was what she kept telling herself. _Nothing_ happened and _nothing_ ever will. Not with Larry. _Never_ with Larry.

She got up and out of bed, slipped on her robe and shuffled her way into the kitchen. She was happy to see breakfast on the table and relieved to read Larry's note. There was no legitimate reason for her to feel relieved. None. So he went jogging and she didn't have to deal with him. Maybe that was it. She didn't have to deal with him for a bit. Maybe three days with him was already a little too much and she was getting a little too in her head.

But at least she had gotten decent breakfasts for the past few days.

While Terri ate her breakfast she heard the jingling of bells coming from under the table. She looked under and saw the kittens play fighting each other and took note that Larry had put their collars back on. Though they didn't seem particularly happy about it Terri decided they had to get used to them sooner or later.

"Good morning Sergio, Roxy," she sang giving them pats on their furry heads before going back to her breakfast.

Sitting there eating alone made her thoughts travel taking them to the previous evening. She shook her blonde head immediately not wanting to dwell on it, not even for a second. After all, _nothing_ happened. She felt that she needed to be preoccupied and decided to retrieve the morning paper to read while eating.

"Sergio? Roxy? Can you got get me the morning paper?" She asked ducking her head to look at them. Terri chuckled as they continued to play, ignoring her request completely.

As she stepped out of her apartment- after tidying up her disheveled self- Terri was met with the best example of why Larry was… how would one put it nicely?_ Scum_.

From what Terri could see in the distance of her doorstep, a woman with raven tresses pulled into high ponytail wearing simple grey shorts paired with bright pink leggings and a cut-up, orange, jersey sweater crop-top. Just by how the woman was dressed Terri concluded the jogger was going to be quite young. She was minding her own business running along when Larry came up behind her Terri continued to observe and noted that Larry didn't talk to the jogger but stalked at a somewhat distance as he ogled her up and down. When he had his fill of being a lecherous creep, he picked up his pace and pretended to stumble, falling near the foot of the brunette. The nurse couldn't help but fold her arms across her chest, looked up, and roll her eyes as the ridiculous scene played out.

The young woman, like any decent human being, looked concerned for his well-being and knelt next to him. Larry played the ever dramatic part of being injured and allowed himself to be fussed over. Terri wanted to go over, pull him up by his ear and drag him in. She decided against it when the jogger averted her gaze holding her face as if she was trying to hide her blush. She wondered what line Larry had used to raise such a reaction.

Terri saw that Larry took hold of the young woman's hand, causing the jogger to return his gaze. Those stupid, dark, beady eyes of his somehow got her to melt—the jogger—Terri wouldn't know anything about that. She wasn't sure what their exchange had been, but she watched as the young woman helped Larry up and allowed him to lean on her. Larry continued to flirt, whispering something into her ear despite no one being close enough to heat their exchange. She said something in reply that caused Larry's already smarmy smile to widen even further. His new acquaintance then helped him to the front of the complex as he slightly limped while she held on to him.

Once arrived, Larry waved her goodbye and once she jogged out of sight, he sprinted towards the apartment.

"Good-morning Larry," Terri greeted with a note of exasperation as he ran past completely disregarding her. "Rude," she grumbled loud enough for him to hear.

Larry ignored her comment, mumbling under his breath as he went in search for something.

"What are you doing?" she asked as she watched him flap about her living room.

"Do you have a pen?" he asked out of breath and sounding desperate before he resumed his incoherent mutterings.

Terri walked over to where her phone was and grabbed a pen and handed it over to him. That's when she heard his muttering and realized they were numbers. It dawned on her; he was trying to remember the young woman's phone number.

The evil smirk which graced Terri's lips reached her eyes. "Seven! Two! Eleven! Five! Zero!" she began shouting random numerals, an attempt to muddle the numbers Larry was so desperately trying to remember. It only made Larry loudly recite the phone number louder as he searched for something to write on.

The two exchanged glances when they realized at the same time that she kept a small notepad by the phone. The two leapt to get to it, but Terri was closer and snatched it away just before Larry could. "Eight! Four! Five!" her voice was full of mirth as she continued on.

He tried to snatch it from her but she was too quick and held it just out of his reach. As Larry leaned in trying to grab it, he ended up pressing against Terri, making her fall on to the couch. Larry fell right along with her; he was practically lying on top of her as he continued trying to get a hold of the notepad.

Terri placed her hand against his chest, pushing Larry away, keeping him from lying directly on top of her, as she extended her other arm over the armrest to keep the notepad from his grasps. Through the commotion, she felt Larry place a warm hand over her own, the hand that was pressed onto his chest. He tucked his thumb under her hand and she felt him softly gliding it up and down against her palm causing her to momentarily forget the task at hand. Her questioning eyes darted up to his face and he flashed her a wicked grin. The usual quick-witted blonde found herself unable to react appropriately to Larry suddenly taking hold of her wrist as he maneuvered to sit down on the couch with her arm pinned against his chest. He swiftly pushed up the sleeve of her robe and began writing on the exposed skin of her arm.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" Terri screeched as she sat up. He didn't reply; the answer seemed obvious as he continued. Terri tried to pull her arm away but he kept a firm grip on her wrist. She threw the notepad at him, hitting him in the shoulder. She was able to break free as he stilled upon getting hit with a notebook. "Why didn't you just write on your own arm?!" she barked as she rubbed her wrist.

"I'm too sweaty," he said as he sat sprawled out on her couch, not even bothering to pick up the notepad. "Doesn't matter, I forgot her number anyways." Larry let out a tired sigh. "Thank you so much," he sang sarcastically.

"Then what did you-," she looked at her arm and read it aloud, "Eight, zero, zero, eight, five?" her confusion rising with every number.

Larry chuckled. "Boobs," was all he said.

"Oh, very mature, Larry," Terri chided.

"You're the one who started playing keep away, _first_!" he countered.

"Ugh. Get off my couch! You're all sweaty and smelly!"

"Says the person with morning breath," Larry mumbled as he got up and headed for the shower leaving Terri to huff into her own hands and sniff to see if she indeed had morning breath.

…

Despite the fact that absolutely nothing happened the previous night, Terri took painstaking care in avoiding Larry's bed. She even went as far as to avoid looking at it as she roamed his apartment with Roxy in her arms. Sergio climbed the cat tree house but Terri felt that Roxy needed to be shown around her new place.

The electrician had already stopped by and had turned the power on. At the moment Larry was dealing with the service employee from the Gas Company— more like flirting. The service employee was a lovely Hawaiian woman, with a deep tan and jet black hair that she wore swept up into a messy bun.

Terri tried to mind her own business but there was only so much she could do as she took to the couch and played with Roxy. The nurse ended up having to witness another one of Larry's seductions.

"Odette?" Larry sounded pleased upon learning the woman's name. "The name suits you _perfectly_," he gushed.

Odette's dark, brown brows rose as her eyes shimmered with amusement. A curious, "Oh?" escaped her puckered lips.

"Yes, it reminds me of Swan Lake. And like a swan," his voice changed, becoming slower and breathy, "your neck is so long...," his hand came up, "elegant…," he looked to be in a daze as his hand slowly crept towards her face, "and graceful," he finished with one quick breath, snatching his hand back as if he had managed to break free from a trance and remembered she wasn't his to caress. "How lucky your boyfriend is to get to kiss along it," he added quickly with a sad smile.

Terri rolled her eyes.

Odette, on the other hand, seemed taken. "I- I don't have a boyfriend," she informed him sheepishly.

Larry beamed. "Is that good news for me?" he asked with a wink.

The Gas Company employee seemed flustered, unable to hide her delight. "I uh, we'll see? But um, right now, I have to ignite something of yours?"

"Mmm, maybe after I buy you dinner first," he teased.

Her dark eyes widened. "I meant the water heater!"

He gave a hearty chuckle. "Of course! Right, this way." He put his hand on the small of her back as he led her to it.

Terri exchanged glances with Roxy, in a manner of sort. "That's Larry for ya. Prepare to meet a new lady every night," she told the kitten. Roxy simply pawed at Terri's hand. Seeing how he dealt with other women up close really locked in Terri's views about the womanizer. It wasn't anything new or shocking, but it confirmed that whatever occurred between them last night—which nothing did—it was just an illusion of candlelight, soft music, and closeness. Larry was the master of deception when it came to seducing and Terri wasn't going to fall prey to it like the girls she found herself pitying.

Odette finished her task quickly. She had already been quite flattered by Larry so before leaving, she gave him a business card with her number written on it, causing Larry to grin from ear to ear.

"Wow, that's two girls and it's not even one yet," Terri commented up once they were alone.

"You made me forget the other girl's number."

"What are you going to do with all these women anyways?"

He smirked. "Wouldn't you like to find out?"

She shot him a look of complete exasperation and heaved a heavy sigh. "Let's just get to the vet's."

…

The visit to the vet's office had left Terri feeling weary of Larry. He may have had gotten two numbers earlier that day but that didn't satisfy the womanizer's needs as he continued to hit on the receptionist and the Veterinarian.

She was getting tired of having to be a spectator to it all. Terri had tried to distance herself from him at vet's not wanting to be associated with his philandering. She had thought by the end of the visit she would have been dropping him off at home and she'd get to relax at home without his presence. Instead, she had to drive Larry back to his place and help him gather a few more things so he could stay a little longer at her place. Larry had finally come to the realization he needed to be able to place and receive calls to his boss back in Santa Monica as well as his new contacts in Oahu, and of course his dates. She never expected that Larry's lack of a phone line at his place would ever affect her life. And yet…

Damn her kind-hearted nature.

From her room, Terri could hear Larry finally phoning his boss to check in that he had arrived in Hawaii calling four days after the fact. She knew he was getting told off for not having called sooner as he apologized profusely. He gave out her number as a temporary contact, not only to his boss but also his mother, telling them, "feel free to call whenever", as if suddenly it was his residence and he was the one paying the phone bill. She'd have to collect from him.

After the call ended he moseyed his way over to Terri's room where she was sorting out her laundry. "So I'll drop you off at the hospital in the morning, then go to a phone company, get my phone line stuff in order, and then pick up the kittens from the vet's after their surgery, and later on pick you up at the hospital at nine?" he prattled on.

She hadn't bothered to look up and simply nodded her confirmation.

He leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom. "Are you angry with me?" Larry asked out of the blue.

She continued to separate her laundry wondering what prompted his question. "No. Why?" she said finally looking at him.

"Well, you haven't really talked to me since the vet's office."

"Oh that. You're an embarrassment."

He was a bit taken back by her bluntness causing him to ask, "_Moi_?"

"You have no shame," she said looking at him directly with a shake of her head.

"Yeah…" he nodded with self-awareness.

"Well, _I _do. And when you're out with me hitting on every single woman…"

"Are you jealous?" he asked sounding slightly amused.

She clapped her hands together and gave a mocking round of laughter.

"Ok. I get it you're not jealous. Then what is it?"

"As a fellow woman, who has dealt with countless of men like you-"

"I like to believe I bring a little something special," he said proudly.

"It's little alright," she quipped. "As a woman," she continued, "I feel a bit responsible for bringing you out into public spaces where you act so reprehensively."

"I'm not your dog going around marking his territory."

"You could've fooled me," she remarked with a wry smile.

With his arms bent up like a dog sitting up, he tipped his head back and he howled dramatically, "Awooo."

Terri rolled her eyes at him while smirking at his silliness.

"So, planning on doing laundry?" he asked.

"No, Larry. I thought we'd have a nice cotton shirt for dinner."

"Beats your cooking," he retorted.

Her mouth gaped open as if she was offended but her eyes shone bright, unable hide her amusement as she jokingly threw one of her shirts at him.

Larry easily caught it as he bore a cocky grin but it quickly went away when another article of clothing was hurled at him, hitting him in the face, followed by another, then another, and another.

He shot Terri a look of feigned irritation. She knew she was in for it when she noticed a roguish grin appear on his face despite his best efforts to hide it. He had a pile of her clothes in one arm while the other raised with her shirt in his hand ready to be thrown at her. Getting ready she gathered a pile of her clothes in her arms as well.

Larry took a step forward raising his arm high and Terri mimicked his actions. It wasn't certain who threw first but they were both throwing her clothes at each other, the floor of her bedroom getting littered with her clothes.

They had been laughing and shouting at each other that soon the two collapsed on her bed from exhaustion. They were still giggling like a couple of children as they tried to catch their breath, looking up at the ceiling.

Terri felt Larry turn onto his side towards her and she did the same, turning towards him tucking her hands under her head as she did so. They stayed in that position as their breathing slowly evened out and their giggles ebbed away. Soon the room filled with only the sound of their soft breathing, neither uttered a word simply relishing in the quiet comfort.

A few moments passed and Larry gave her a warm and gentle smile. Terri blinked at the sudden delight she felt run up her spine and spread to her face as she returned a warm smile of her own.

His hand slowly came up to tuck away strands of her stray hair behind her ear, his hand lingering, as the tips of his fingers ever so softly brushed against her cheek. She felt herself holding her breath in anticipation, her mind racing at was to come next, until the memory from earlier that day came to the forefront of her mind. He had repeated the same action with Odette.

She quickly sat up and let out a small, huff of a nervous chuckle. "Look at the mess we made!" she started looking around the room. "This is all your fault," she joked trying to shift the overall mood.

Larry sat up as well and looked around the place nodding in agreement.

Terri stood up but as she made a move to start cleaning up she felt Larry take hold of her hand, stopping her in her tracks. She shot him a confused look.

"Why won't you have just _one_ date with me?"

She pulled her hand away from his grasp, sounding peeved as she asked, "_This. Again?_"

"Last night—," Larry began.

She wouldn't let him continue not wanting to bring up the topic. "Look, Larry," she said folding her arms across her stomach. "I don't know what you want or expect…" she started to say, but then cocked her head slightly as she thought about it. "No… that's not it. I know exactly what you want, and I just don't want to be a part of that."

"You think you know me?"

"I do!" she remarked with certainty. "Let me just ask you this: How many of your dates do you still keep in touch with?"

Larry opened his mouth to answer but found himself shutting it when he found himself unable to answer her.

"You see? After a couple of dates, you're done with them. I'm kind of your only friend in Hawaii at the moment. Let's not ruin that, hmm?"

"What's one night of fun with Larry?" he posed the question with levity.

Those words, however, cut her deeper than she would have ever expected. She had been running around trying to be a helpful friend, and even though she didn't expect anything in return, showing some respect for her would have been nice. The fact that he only saw her as a "one night of fun" ready to ruin whatever type of friendship they had developed felt more than disrespectful.

With a scoff, she replied barely hiding her disdain, "Not a night worth getting dressed up for."

Larry wasn't exactly paying attention to her demeanor, his mind somewhere else entirely— mostly in the gutter. "Who said you needed to get dressed at all?" he asked suggestively with an added wink, aloof to her growing irritation.

Terri's eyebrows forced together into a pronounced frown, her fists balled at her side. "I have no intention of_-_," her voice cracked with ire, "of being a random number in anybody's collection of women," she spat her head shaking furiously at him.

It was then that Larry finally noticed that she was truly upset. He had pissed off plenty of women but never had someone upset with him like Terri was in that moment. He couldn't wrap his head around it and simply sat there contemplating on her words.

His smug demeanor was replaced by regret as he looked up at her. "I was joking…," he thought that would be enough to get him off the hook for whatever he had said.

"You just don't get it," she said with a derisive scoff. "Why do men just see me as a fling?"

"What?"

"I thought since we've known each other for a while you would at least have some respect for me."

"I do!"

"Then why do you keep asking me out for a date like I'm _some_\- _some_\- some _cheap_ thrill?!" She asked with exasperation. "Not that those other women you ask aren't lovely people who deserve the same respect. You know you shouldn't treat women like that—"

"I'm not expecting you to say yes," he said cutting off her ramblings.

"Huh?" She seemed to soften up.

Larry chuckled looking up at her confused gaze. "It's just fun to ask you out because I can't get my hopes crushed."

"Excuse me?" She raised a questioning brow at him.

"I know you're always going to turn me down. It just happens to be fun asking you out without all the added pressure of having to be charming."

"Are you telling me that when you hit on those women… that's you being charming?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Yikes," she said in shock with the corners of her mouth pulled back.

Larry grabbed the nearest piece of clothing and chucked it at her playfully.

* * *

...

I'd like to thank the lovely DerpTown for editing. But uh I went in and changed a few things so the mistakes are mine.

…

Guest who said something along the lines of 3's Co. not utilizing Richard's skill set - AGREED 4985% who are you? we need to talk

Guest asking for ship name- I too have no idea. There's almost no need for a ship name for these two until we get much, much, _much_ more content.  
(in other words, someone please write something. I'd like to read, too)

...

Thank you for sending in reviews! And of course, thanks for reading!


	7. Bimbo

A/N: Thanks for stopping by. We're taking the … long and winding road to get where I'm going. That's what I'm claiming cus I have yet to get back on track.

* * *

**Bimbo**

Terri woke up to the sound of her alarm clock ringing, she looked over to where it stood on her nightstand and turned it off. Heaving a heavy sigh, she got up and stretched a bit before groggily shuffling her way to the bathroom. She tried to enter the bathroom only to find that it was locked. Yet to be fully alert, Terri was confused as to why she was locked out of her own bathroom and jiggled the handle again.

"Hold on, give me a minute," she heard Larry say.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as her brain was finally making sense of the situation. "Hurry up," she commanded just before making her way over to the couch.

She curled up at one end of the couch to wait until she noticed the fluffy pillow on the other end and the blanket which laid in a heap. It felt like they called to her and she simply couldn't resist getting under the blanket and resting her head on the soft inviting pillow. _'Just a few minutes of shut-eye,'_ was what she told herself right before dozing off.

The lovely aroma of coffee woke Terri from her slumber and as usual, she heard Larry's hum of a tune. A smile played on her lips as she languidly stretched out. She realized she was sleeping on the couch when her stretching range was restricted by the back of the couch. Her eyes snapped open remembering she was supposed to be getting ready for work. She got up and rushed back to the bathroom, mumbling profanities under her breath.

After getting dressed and made up she went to the kitchen where Larry was already dressed and having his breakfast of grapefruit. Terri's shoulders slumped gathering that grapefruit was probably her breakfast too. Upon further inspection, she noticed a plate of eggs sunny-side-up, sausage, and toast; her face lit up at the sight.

"Good morning!" Terri sang cheerily as she sat down at the table.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" she pouted. "Now I have to scarf down all this food down in a hurry."

"And have Sleeping Beauty kick my butt? Huh! No thank you," Larry retorted.

"You got up early," she noted as she began digging into her breakfast.

"I didn't feel like getting woken up by being attacked again," he explained recalling the last time she had woke him up. "You're very violent Terri. You should seek help for that," Larry suggested.

"They were _soft_ pillows!" she claimed as a way to justify her actions.

"As opposed to, what? _Hard_ pillows?"

She cocked her head and ever so sweetly replied, "As opposed to my fists."

"No really. Do you think you might need professional help for your violent tendencies?" Larry teased with a huge grin.

Terri rolled her eyes and continued working on finishing her breakfast. "Aren't you gonna have any?" she asked as she ate.

"Nah. I gotta stay in shape for the ladies," he brought an arm up and flexed. "What's with the uniform?" Larry asked when he noticed she wasn't in her usual white nurse's dress.

"We get to wear scrubs now," she was quite pleased to inform him.

"Sexy," Larry remarked sarcastically.

She was exasperated by such comments and people constantly objectifying her because of the sexy nurse trope. "I don't need to be sexy when I'm at work. I'm there to take care of patients and do my job well," she declared matter of fact.

"It doesn't matter what you wear, you'll always be incredibly sexy," Larry complimented her making the corners of Terri's eyes crinkle in delight.

She flapped a hand at him, blushing. "Yeah," Terri agreed shyly.

Terri glanced at her wristwatch as she ate then downed her coffee realizing she didn't have much time. As she got up and took her plate to the sink she heard Larry say, "Just leave it. I'll get to them when I get back. Let's go."

"Thanks!" she chimed appreciatively. "Let me just get my things and we'll be on our way," she said disappearing into her room.

When she came back out Larry saw that she was wearing his dusty-rose colored bomber jacket that he had lent her. "Is that mine?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah," she confirmed meekly. "It's just _so_ comfortable," she hummed.

He cocked his head ad casually walked up to her as if he was deciding whether or not it suited her. "Keep it," he said taking hold of either side of the jacket's opening straightening it out around her. "It looks good on you," he complimented giving it a tug.

"Really?" Terri beamed. "Thank you!"

His eyes squinted as he pondered on something. "You owe me twenty-four fifty," he finally said.

"What!" she squeaked in disbelief that he would ask her to pay.

"Eh, since it's second hand, let's call it an even twenty," he shrugged and turned away heading out.

"You can have it back then," she retorted.

"Okay," he said holding out his hand and waited for her to return it to him.

"Once I'm done using it," she told him as she strolled passed with her nose up defiantly.

…

Their car ride wasn't exactly peaceful as the two fought over the radio stations. Terri wanted something from the current decade and Larry wanted something from his youth that didn't have the added noise of a synthesizer.

"Keep your eyes on the road, Larry," she commanded while changing the station to latest pop music station.

"Maybe if _you_ stopped messing around with the radio," he countered.

"It's my car!"

"I'm the one driving!"

"Yup! So you need to pay attention and remember the streets that way you won't get lost when you come pick me up tonight. Forget about the radio."

He assumed he wasn't winning this round and dropped the topic. He'd just have to listen to whatever he wanted on the drive back. "What's with the music anyway?"

"It's hip. Something you would know nothing about."

"Oh and you do, _grandma_?"

"Hush, I love this part," she ordered. "_But I see your true colors shining through-,"_ she began screeching the chorus. She saw Larry make a move to turn off the radio and she promptly slapped his hand away as she continued.

"YOU CAN HAVE THE JACKET FOR FREE IF YOU STOP SINGING," he bargained, speaking loudly over her singing.

She could only look at him with her mouth agape after having been insulted. She folded her arms and slumped into her seat. "You're not that of great of a singer either," she grumbled under her breath as she steamed.

"I'm kidding," he claimed. Terri perked up in her seat about to resume singing along when Larry added, "You still have to pay for the jacket."

"Jerk." Terri pouted. "Turn here," she directed pointing in the direction of the hospital. "You have the directions to the vet's?" she asked and Larry nodded in confirmation. "Since they just got fixed you're going to need to keep them apart."

"I know. I'm sure the veterinarian's office will tell me how to care for Roxy and Sergio."

"You should probably go to the phone company first so the kittens aren't alone a lot," Terri suggested.

"Will do."

"The hospital's phone number is in the address book that I keep near the phone. I'm at the Psychiatric Ward."

"I know, you told me already."

"I left addresses and directions on the coffee table."

"On the coffee table," he interjected finishing at the same time.

"Just because my shift ends at nine doesn't mean— "

"Doesn't mean you'll be ready to go by nine," he finished for her.

"So when you come pick me up— "

"I know, I know, wait for you near the nurses' station. Psych ward. Third floor."

Terri didn't much appreciate getting constantly cut off and pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. "You can pull up here," she informed pointing out to the drop off zone. "Also—"

"Terri, I can handle it. I will call you if I have any problems," he cut her off as he pulled up along the sidewalk.

"Thanks for making me breakfast," she finished before leaning over, placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Momentarily stunned by her actions, he blinked. Then he smirked as he came upon a realization. "Huh, I guess this is why Jack became a chef."

Terri rolled her eyes aided by a roll of her head as well. "Ok, bye, Larry. Pick me around nine!" she said getting out of the car.

He watched as she rushed off, his smirk replaced by a dopey grin as his hand went to his cheek. Despite the fact that she came off serious, she was sweet when she wanted to be and no matter how much she berated him he just felt giddy about their interactions. It felt akin to scoring a date with a hot chick who promised to give him a good time, but for some reason, better.

The loud blaring of a car horn brought him out of his musings and he drove off listening to the music station that Terri had left tuned into. It wasn't his cup of tea however it didn't matter because he wasn't even paying attention to the music as his thoughts were once again engulfed by Terri and a little bit of guilt.

He couldn't help but think about the previous day when she had gotten seriously upset with him. His experience with her had always been that he would make a pass at her and she wouldn't give it a second thought to shoot him down. But when she asked him why men only saw her as a fling with noticeable anger, he felt guilty. He was all about having flings and no commitment and couldn't find anything wrong with a good time. Yet, to see that it hurt her…

He had been quick to come up with the answer that he hoped she wanted to hear: that he had never expected her to agree to his advances and he had assumed it was just how they operated. He supposed that Terri wanted romance and a real relationship like most chicks, and although he would have jumped for a date, Larry wasn't sure if he'd be up for such a thing. He could have easily spouted some sweet words that promised everything but meant absolutely nothing and move on as he would have with most broads. However, he didn't want to do that to Terri, not that she would have fallen for it anyway.

She was right to point out that he barely kept in touch with women after a couple of dates unless they happened to be like him and only sought after a good time.

Larry knew he wanted to stay in touch with Terri and wouldn't want anything to ruin their friendship. He could pick up a date at any time but there was only one Terri who would put up with him.

…

Larry arrived at the hospital about nearly an hour late, already dreading the consequences. He parked the car and began heading towards the hospital as the cogs in his brains turned trying to come up with an excuse to tell Terri. Car accident? Helping an elderly? The truth? That he had actually been on the phone with his mother answering all her questions and had lost track of time and that when he was driving over he got lost. Not that he would ever admit to the latter part after the nagging Terri did about him paying attention to the streets that morning as well as having had provided him with directions.

As he drew closer to the hospital, he saw Terri standing off to the side of the entrance talking with someone. From what Larry could observe at a distance, the man was dressed to the nine, quite built, but not much taller than Terri, his hair was so black it almost shone blue under the light of the surrounding area while his tanned skin almost shimmered like copper.

Terri, on the other hand, had let her flaxen tresses flow freely, and every time the soft breeze flittered about, she would tuck the wispy strands behind her ear as she glanced up at her acquaintance through her eyelashes. Larry saw her tip her head back laughing in response to something the guy had said, her hand had gently swat at his chest as if to say he was much too funny for her to handle.

Something about the scene irked Larry and he found himself picking up his pace. He knew Terri spotted him when she turned her head and scowled at him before turning back to her acquaintance with a smile. Exchanging goodbyes, she waved him off before making her way over to Larry looking peeved.

"_Where have you been?_" she shouted at him once close enough to slap him in the arm. Unlike with the other man which had been gentle, Larry got to feel a nice sting.

He gave a pained look and then scowled reaching for Terri's hand, the one which had assaulted him, and held it. At first, Terri shot him a suspicious look, but she didn't seem to mind for she gently swung their hands as they began walking towards her car with Larry leading the way.

"Sorry. My mother called and she was probing," he explained apologetically.

"Oh. About what?" her tone shifted to that of empathy, understanding that mothers tended to worry and questioned at length.

"She wanted to know about the bimbo I was shacking up with."

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her your name was Terri," he teased.

Outraged, she turned her head and gaped at him. He kept his line of sight forward not meeting her angry glare. Terri tried to bring her hand up to hit him in the shoulder but Larry held her hand firmly between them.

She looked at his face to see a smug smile playing on his lips. With an annoyed scoff, Terri bumped his shoulder with hers causing Larry to falter slightly. Satisfied with herself, Terri attempted to walk off but with his hand still holding on to hers, she was made to stop in her tracks. The nurse turned and gave him a questioning glance, wondering why he had stopped walking altogether. With an unexpected tug of her hand, Terri found herself being pulled towards Larry, his free hand easily slipped around her waist, under the jacket he had lent her. He didn't say anything and simply gazed at her with the same smug look he had on his face from before.

"What?" Terri sneered.

"My mother told me to thank the bimbo for taking care of me."

"I'm a bimbo now?"

Larry didn't bother to answer her and simply placed a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you," it came out in a low whisper.

He had expected that to take Terri out of her annoyed mood, instead, she sneered, "You're welcome," and turned away out of his grasp stomping away, leaving Larry to stand there bemused.

"Hurry up, Larry!" she cried over her shoulders. "I want to get home and see the babies!"

...

As soon as Terri stepped inside of her apartment she darted right for the cat carriers which sat on her couch, where Sergio and Roxy remained groggy and docile.

Terri greeted them in a soft and soothing tone, "How are my babies doing?" She sat on the couch and peered inside their carriers, pushing back the urge to hold them and just kiss them senseless.

"The vet said we should hold them as they recover," Larry informed her knowing she was dying to just pet the. "You can take them out."

"Oh, yay," she said quietly but excitedly as she took Sergio out of his carrier and gently cuddled him. The little black fur ball could barely open his eyes but he mewled nonetheless at the affection he received. "Miss me?" she whispered.

Larry took Roxy out as well, moving the carriers to the floor as he took a seat next to Terri. "How's my girl?" Larry asked his furry little companion as he tenderly scratched her small, little, head and in return, Roxy leaned into it quite enjoying the sensation. He heard Terri yawn as she sat there still attempting to stay alert. He let out a small chuckle. "How's my other girl? Sleepy already?"

"Not really. Just a bit tired," she replied with a small smile.

He nodded. "I bought them onesies."

"Why?" she asked with a giggle.

"I didn't want them in the cone of shame. They deserve better," Larry claimed and earned himself a heartfelt giggle from the nurse. "What? Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing. Nothing. I just think that's cute," Terri explained still giggling.

Larry wanted to be annoyed with her for the fact that she would laugh at him; instead, he found heat rising to his face and knew he was probably blushing. _Him_: _Blushing_? When had he ever been bashful? He hoped she wouldn't notice.

"Hey Larry?" she said once calmer.

"Yeah?" Larry mumbled.

"When do you start work anyways?"

"Actually I have to meet with a contractor tomorrow for a bit, I was hoping to borrow your car," he said anticipating her approval.

Terri sighed. "Sure, Larry. Why not?" she shrugged. She was too tired to make a big deal of anything at the moment. He could have asked for both her kidneys and she would have given it to him. "We'll just do what we did today."

"I promise to pick you up on time."

The corners of her eyes crinkled ever so slightly. "It's fine," she said softly.

Larry noticed she tried to hide the smile that appeared on her face by kissing Sergio and he wondered if it had anything to do with the man she was talking to. The thought didn't sit well with Larry.

"What are we going to do with Sergio and Roxy?" Terri asked as she reached over and scratched Roxy's ear.

"Huh?"

"Don't they need to be watched over for a couple of days?"

"I'll be out only for a couple of hours, tomorrow."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. We just have to make sure they don't get too active."

"When do you get your phone hooked up?"

"Scheduled for Friday," he replied.

"That long of a wait huh?"

"Yeah… The storm really messed with the lines and they're trying to get a handle on all of that," he explained sounding somewhat despondent. "Thanks for letting me stay here. I got quite a bit of work done today using your phone," unlike the previous show of gratitude this time he sounded more genuine and earnest.

"It's no problem," Terri claimed, giving him a pat on his knee. "It worked out. You can look after Sergio for me while I'm at work," she finished with a yawn.

He couldn't help but let out a small laugh as she struggled to stay alert. "C'mon, hand Sergio over and go get ready for bed."

"But I'm not—" she tried to deny that she was sleepy but she ended up cutting herself off when she yawned once again. "Oh here," she said handing over the kitten and getting up. She disappeared doing what needed to be done to get ready for bed.

Larry made himself a little more comfortable on the couch and let the pair of kittens settle down on his chest as he hummed a soft tune petting them. Sergio was ever the affectionate one and slowly climbed his way up to nuzzle its furry tiny body into the crook of Larry's neck. Soon Larry felt his eyes growing a bit heavy and he resigned to shutting them as he continued to lull Roxy and Sergio into a tranquil state.

He heard a soft "hi" and opened his eyes to see that Terri was hovering above him, changed into satin pajamas.

"I thought you were going to bed," Larry said quietly.

"I feel wide awake now. Also, I want to hold them," she explained. Terri situated herself on the sofa so that she was sat facing Larry, her legs tucked under her. "Aww, Sergio," she cooed looking at the little guy all curled up near Larry's shoulder. She didn't want to disturb their peace and took to simply petting them.

As Terri stroked Sergio's little fluffy body, Larry felt her hand graze against his cheek from time to time. At that moment Larry knew one thing: he wanted to hold her hand again.

"Sorry," he heard her murmur a quiet apology as her hand brushed against his cheek for the umpteenth time. "You look like you were about to nod off. Maybe you should get ready for bed, too."

He nodded but didn't make a move to do so. Instead, he did what he wanted; he took hold of her other hand and held it in his own. The warmth of her hand on his felt like it was radiating throughout him.

She looked down at their clasped hands and then back at him with suspicion. "So… what insult are you going to throw at me now?" she wondered out loud.

"I was just wanted to know…" he looked down at Roxy trying to figure out what he wanted to say next as if the little black kitty-cat would provide him with the answer.

He was itching to ask about the guy she was talking— no— flirting with while waiting for him to pick her up. It obvious she had been flirting because she had the habit of letting her hair down and flow about her when she did so. Larry speculated that maybe Terri thought it made her look more alluring and playful. At the moment she had her hair swept up into a tangled mess of a bun letting wisps of stray hair frame her face and some left to cascade down her neck. Whatever she thought about how she kept her hair didn't matter to Larry; her wittiness and playful nature was enough to draw anyone in and keep them captivated.

It dawned on him how different she was around him. It was apparent Terri didn't bother to put up a front around him. She didn't try to act coy, she didn't go about batting her eyelashes, she wasn't gentle, she didn't fake a laugh for him. He didn't know whether he should've been glad that she was willing to be herself around him or feel slighted that she didn't care.

"Larry?" Terri called since he hadn't said anything in a while.

Something in Larry's gut told him that he didn't want to know anything about Terri's flirting partner. "So, how was your day?" he found himself asking instead.

* * *

A/N: As the story progresses it's getting harder for me to keep them sounding like them? Idk.

Ok, y'all. Yes, Larry is soft in my fic. I just really believe he's very tender in intimate settings be it an act to get a girl into bed or genuine. He's some type of a romantic. It does look like he's putting up with Terri's… idk dry, sarcastic personality? But I have to say in the show they go off on Larry and he pretty much shrugs it off and owns up to his horrible nature.

Thanks for having sent in reviews! They are very much appreciated!


	8. Lilliputian Gatomania

That took forever!

Enjoy! (hopefully)

* * *

**Lilliputian Gatomania**

Rain poured down that Wednesday morning, large droplets thudding against the car as Larry and Terri sat in her car in the hospital's parking lot. They were head to head with another car that wouldn't budge after both cars had tried to turn into the same area.

By Terri's observation, the other car's slick and sporty design paired with a silver winged emblem meant whoever drove that car was going to be extraordinarily wealthy.

"Why won't they just move?" Larry said as he honked at them.

Terri winced at the infuriatingly loud noise. "Just let them go, Larry."

"No! I got here first!"

With a frustrated drawl, she whined, "Who _cares_? You're just dropping me off!" Terri motioned towards the hospital's entrance with a pained look from exasperation.

"It's the principle of the matter," he explained haughtily.

"Since when have you ever been keen on principles?"

"Since I'm … _right_!"

The two went quiet when the other car's door opened and out popped a crimson red umbrella being opened soon followed by the woman who held on to it. Terri's and Larry's eyes widened for different reasons upon seeing her.

"Hubba, hubba," Larry mumbled ogling her.

"Larry, look what you did!" Terri chided with a backhanded swat against his chest.

"Summoned a goddess?" he said unable to tear his gaze away from the brunette who had just stepped out of the car revealing herself to be a complete knockout in her cashmere sweater and pencil skirt; the outfit hugged her body snugly in just the right places.

"That's Erika Sato, a _very_ prominent lawyer," Terri informed him with apprehension.

"Perhaps she can take a look at my _briefs_," he said and chuckled at his own cheesy joke.

Terri tilted her head up in irritation. "Will you _please_, just drop me off."

"After I get her number."

"She is _so_ out of your league," Terri tried to reason with him, however, Larry simply ignored her. "_Larry!_" She was getting frustrated with each passing moment. "I have to get to work!"

"Then go."

"I'm not darting across the parking lot in the rain!"

"Ok," Larry replied with a shrug. "Suit yourself." He then opened the car door making his move to get out.

"Larry!" she cried out once again and gripped onto his arm, keeping him from leaving.

He grimaced a bit at her tight grip, but then flashed a grin as he pried her fingers off of him. "It'll be quick," he promised right before he got out into the rain and jogged over to the proclaimed "goddess" to stand under her umbrella.

Terri folded her arms and slumped back down into her seat. She couldn't for the life of her figure out how he would spin the situation that would result in him earning a date and yet, he tried, wasting everyone's time in the process. If seething glares could kill, Larry would have been dead and he would be feeling that same angry glare into his next life.

As she continued glaring at him, she realized that sharing an umbrella did look quite romantic. Terri observed how the two were practically pressed up against each other whilst trying to keep out of the rain. The close proximity, the shared body heat that would have been welcoming as opposed to the cold surrounding weather. Their breath mingling as they exchanged words.

'_Of course, Larry knows what he's doing_,' Terri thought bitterly as she continued to steam, that was until she saw the lawyer grab Larry by the collar of his shirt with one hand and seem to yell right at his face causing Terri to burst out laughing at his misfortune. Upon being released Larry stumbled backward into the rain, raindrops quickly drenching him. Erika didn't let up, and from Terri's point of view, she continued to yell at Larry, poking him in the chest as she did so. Terri clapped her hands supportively and realized they probably couldn't hear her applause of support and leaned over and honked the horn in support and gestured an "ok" with her hand at Erika when the two looked her way.

After that the lawyer swiftly turned around and got back into her car, leaving Larry to stand out in the rain looking ever so pitiful. It didn't invoke any sympathy within the lawyer as she simply went on ahead and blared her horn at him when he didn't budge. He took it as a final sign, finally returning to Terri's car where he tracked in water, infuriating Terri in the process.

"Are you kidding me!" Terri yelled, but there was nothing she could do about it. "You got the interior of my car all wet and you didn't even score," she said gesturing at around her.

Larry shook his head, droplets splattering every which way, some landing on Terri in the process, earning himself a slap in the arm.

"She's amazing," he sighed. "I think I'm in love," he claimed with a dopey look on his face.

"Of course you are," the nurse grumbled with exasperation, tilting her head up as if she was asking god almighty himself if He was seeing this nonsense. "Now, do the gentlemanly thing, back this car up, let her go on ahead and then _DROP. ME. OFF."_

Larry sighed once again completely struck with infatuation as he gazed in the direction of the lawyer while putting the car in reverse.

"Give me a break," Terri mumbled.

Checking the rearview mirror as he backed up he said, "I think she likes me."

"In what universe did that exchange say that she would even tolerate you?"

"I can feel it in my bones, Terri."

"More like boner," she muttered under her breath, rubbing her temple getting tired of his antics.

He still wore a dazed look on his face as he drove forward after finally having let Erika through. "Do you know her?" he asked.

"Not personally."

"Can you put in a good word for me?" he asked sounding quite hopeful.

"I don't like to lie," she replied.

Larry had finally, after what had seemed like hours, pulled in front of the hospital where Terri would finally be allowed to get out.

"Well ok. I'm off," she said and was just about to leave.

Larry shouted, "Wait!" and stopped her by taking hold of her jacket – his jacket – his jacket that she was borrowing. "Don't I get a kiss for making breakfast this morning?"

Terri eyed him up and down. "You're all wet," she sneered.

Larry already had his lips puckered and his eyes closed ready for her to plant one on him. She couldn't help but let out a chortle at his presumptuous action thinking that he even deserved a kiss. As she looked on at his pathetic face, she decided he earned at least a peck on the cheek and quickly placed one onto his wet face. "Thanks for breakfast," she muttered.

"That's _it_?" his eyes widening in disbelief that that was all he was getting. "I got up early and slaved over the hot stove to make cinnamon, apple pancakes just for you!" Larry bemoaned with a frown.

"They weren't that great," she said with a shrug, which was a lie. She loved the pancakes and had made a mental note to get the recipe from him or have him make them again for her one day.

"Like _you_ could do any better."

"Clean my car!" she ordered getting out whilst ignoring his jibe.

…

Sat behind the counter of the nurses' station, Terri cracked her stiff neck and yawned for the umpteenth time that evening as she went over patient's charts before filing them away. Since it was late in the evening, the usual clamor of patients, visitors, and hospital staff had died down and without much to keep her mind busy she realized just how tired she felt. Her shift was almost over and she couldn't wait to go home and crawl into bed and cuddle up with the kittens. A part of her was even a bit excited that Larry would be picking her up because it meant she might even be able to catch a few Z's on the ride home.

She usually never found herself this tired, but the previous night she had stayed up talking to Larry simply because she was being pigheaded and wanted to take care of the kittens, even though they had done nothing but sleep. However, getting to gripe about her day to Larry was an added bonus. They ended up talking until— well, she wasn't sure until when— all she remembered was that the lights were still on and she woke up curled up against the backrest of the couch facing Larry who was still asleep with a kitten on his shoulder; his head lolled back as he emitted a soft snore.

Terri had stirred awake because, at around two in the morning, Roxy had slept off the anesthesia and had decided it no longer wished to keep still. The black ball of fluff had hopped off of Larry to climb on top of Terri, rousing the nurse. Being woken up at two a.m. would have been annoying, but having been woken up by a kitten was a different story. Terri was delighted that Roxy was up and she would be able to play with it.

About to scoop Roxy up, she came to realize that her hand was still clasped within Larry's.

Terri didn't want to think much of it yet she founding herself dwelling on the situation. It was such a simple gesture: soft and gentle, warm and friendly. Nothing like Larry's usual come-ons: inane and wanton. Plus, it hadn't felt like he was making a move with ulterior motives which caused her to wonder what his deal was. At times she found herself pondering about whether or not there was something deeper under the surface of his brash lechery and devious schemes.

The cool air hit her palm when she had withdrawn her hand away from his, the warmth from Larry's hand quickly dissipated and a part of her had felt like she was missing the comforting warmth. And for a split second she thought about grasping his hand only to see him stir.

She saw that his hand groped around the couch cushion and Terri found herself holding her breath and staring as a thought briefly fluttered across her mind that he was perhaps unconsciously seeking out for her…

That was until he started patting at his chest and his eyes flew open upon not feeling Roxy. He sat up abruptly and Sergio, still on his shoulders, nearly tumbled off. Larry took hold of the kitten before it did, waking the little guy in the process.

Terri scooped up Roxy and showed Larry that his little kitten was safe and in her care. That was when the quietness of the night quickly disappeared; the kittens in unison began crying for their food. From then on the two ended up taking care of the little crybabies until the felines finally tired and went back to sleep, thus allowing them to head to their respective sleeping areas for a couple of hours before Terri had to actually get up and get ready for work.

She realized that probably meant Larry had gotten up earlier than she had to make her those delicious pancakes.

"Ehy, Nurse Alden," a young man with an unkempt Mohawk greeted causing Terri to look up from her files.

"Hey Matt," she returned the greeting, smiling up at him. "_You," _she said pointing a pen at him, "should be in bed."

"It's not even nine yet. What kinda place makes people go to bed this early?" he complained as he ran his fingers through the hairs of his Mohawk; It remained flopped over to one side against his head without the usual products that would have made his hair stand tall.

"A decent sleep schedule is good for mental health."

"Feh, it's too god damn quiet in there. My roommate's already sleeping. He doesn't like to talk."

"How did you get past Nurse Aldrich anyways?" Terri wondered, asking about the nurse who was supposed to keep an eye on the patients that stayed overnight.

"He already nodded off."

Terri shook her head at the information. "We should go wake him up."

"Aww please don't do that," Matt begged. "I'm going a bit stir crazy in my room."

He was still in high school and had barely turned eighteen, but as a legal adult, he was transferred over to the adult psych ward. Terri assumed he must've felt out of place and took pity on him. "You can stay, but I'm going soon, and when I leave, you have to go back," she informed him. "Assuming my ride gets here on time," she added with a grumble.

"Well lucky for you I'm already here," she heard the familiar voice say. She looked over in the direction from which it came and saw Larry rounding the corner and came up next to the station.

"You're early," she stated with a note of surprise.

"Can't keep my princess waiting." though Larry spoke with light-heartedness, he felt a gnawing feeling that if he were to be late again, it would give Terri the opportunity to run into that guy again, and for whatever reason, he didn't enjoy the thought of it. He felt that (even though he had only a mere glance from a distance) the guy was bad news.

"Larry this is Matt. Matt. Larry," she gestured introducing the two to each other.

"Hey bruddah," Matt greeted extending his hand.

"Bruddah?" Larry repeated with raised brows somewhat amused by the greeting.

"I mean. Hello… sir?"

"Bruddah's fine… Nice to meet you, kid."

She had noticed that when Larry arrived he had been holding onto something large at his side, but the reception desk's counter had obstructed her view of it. She stood to peer at it. "What's that?"

With a knowing smile, he placed it on the counter and Terri's blue eyes lit up instantly as she lips parted into a full-on wide grin. It was exactly the reaction Larry had anticipated on seeing; he wasn't sure why, but it simply made him happy seeing her light up. It felt akin to the times he got some girl excited, even though with Terri, nothing would come of it.

"Oh! You brought the babies!" she crooned delightedly once she realized it was the cat carrier. She went around the nurses' station to get a better look.

"Babies?" Matt asked.

"Kittens," Terri and Larry replied in sync.

She bent forward slightly and looked into the carrier, tapping at the door of it as a means of greeting her furry little friends. Promptly after, she straightened up, turned around and slapped Larry in the arm.

"What was _that_ for?" he whined rubbing his arm.

"Animals aren't allowed inside unless they are therapy animals. How did you even get past security, Larry?"

"I told him it was for a poor little girl with Lilliputian Gatomania and she desperately wanted to see her kittens."

"_Larry_!" she scolded, then she paused and thought about what he said. "What is that anyways?"

"I don't know. I made it up," he mumbled and shrugged thus receiving another reprimanding slap in the arm from the nurse. "What are you going to do? Tell on me?"

She careened her neck looking around the lobby. "Okay, okay. Since no one else is here. I'll let it slide."

"I sneak in _our_ kittens and do you say "thank you, Larry"? _Nah_… instead you hit me and I get an earful," he complained. "It took a lot of persuading to get Roxy into the carrier, y'know."

"I didn't tell you to bring them."

"I wanted to surprise you… I put them into their onesies," he informed her quietly with a pitiful pout of his lips, trying to sound like a child who had just been scolded after trying their best. He hoped it would invoke some kind of guilt from Terri.

"Can I see?" Matt asked.

"Of course," she said taking a clothed kitten out of the carrier. She was about to place the kitten in Matt's care when she remembered to ask. "Wait! Are you allergic?"

"No."

"Okay," she said handing the kitten over.

"At least I don't think so." Matt shrugged.

"I'll just give you a shot in the bum with a large needle if you start breaking out into hives," she joked, but not really because that was exactly what she would need to do. She handed the kitten over to Matt.

"You got Sergio there," Larry told the teen.

"Hey Sergio," Matt greeted.

And at that moment Terri heard the sound footsteps and spun around to see the Chief of Medicine who was an older gentleman with greying hair and wore a bored frown while approaching them.

* * *

Hey thank you all for reading!

And a special thank you to my lovely, very supportive friends!


	9. Kittens and A Matt

A/N: I've been busy with work and work sucking any motivation out of me to write.

Anywho, this is a mess of a chapter. But it's a Three's Company fan fiction. So in a way, I'm just sticking to canon. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Thanks for putting up with me!

* * *

**Kittens and A Matt**

As Terri, Larry, and Matt stood around the nurses' station fawning over the kittens, Terri heard the unmistakable sound of expensive Italian loafers clacking against the hospital floor. She turned her head to see the Chief of Medicine with his signature scowl. Though he always did wear such a frown, the current situation she was in (the kittens and a Matt in a place where neither should be) made her dread seeing it.

Quickly she shoved the carrier off the counter where it fell back onto the desk behind, clanking against stationery items as it did so, causing all three co-conspirators to wince at the noise it made.

Terri took a few steps forward ignoring her noisy mishap, taking it upon herself to advert the approaching doctor's curiosity towards something else by greeting him with an ever so gracious smile that she routinely used on nervous patients.

Larry and Matt (thankfully) knew just what to do as the two took their positions and stood side by side, their backs turned to the doctor and Terri as they used their body to shield the kittens from the view of the frowning doctor.

"Dr. Sinclair! How are you?" she greeted with a suspicious amount of enthusiasm.

"Nurse Alden." he returned the greeting with a nod. "And…" his gaze briefly went to Matt before he looked at Terri critically. "Patients should already be in their rooms" he lectured with a disapproving shake of his head.

"Well, uh. Doctor," she began nervously as she wracked her head for an explanation. Suddenly, Terri smiled brightly as she came up with an excuse. "Well Matt's father is here!" she claimed, gesturing at Larry, who staggered at the sudden role thrust upon him.

"He stopped by because they needed to talk about something very, _very_ important," Terri continued trying to gain a little more sympathy from the doctor for their situation.

"Hey, Pops… can I get fifty bucks," Matt suddenly asked Larry.

"Depends…" Larry trailed off trying to think of what he wanted in return, then finally asked, "What does your mother look like?"

"Leave my mommy out of this, you no good, creepy, old fart-"

"Doctor!" Terri called ever so loudly trying to drown out the two idiots bickering behind her. "What brings you by this late?"

"I just needed a few files," he stated as he made a move to go about her.

Terri's eyes widened, she quickly hooked her arm with the doctor's, abruptly turning and walking him away from the counter.

"Dr. Sinclair, why don't we let them have their privacy," she said as she looked over her shoulders. Her blues eyes darting between the general area of the kittens and their carrier, silently communicating to Matt and Larry to get the kittens and go.

Years of having dealt with mishaps allowed Larry to understand Terri's unspoken words. As soon as she had Dr. Sinclair turned around he quickly grabbed Sergio and the cat carrier and placed him inside then signaled for Matt to grab Roxy.

Roxy, the intuitive little creature, had anticipated her fate and knew she was about to be placed in the dark carrier and be carried off. Though she was just a small kitten she let out a loud meow of protest that could've rivaled the screams of Jamie Lee Curtis in _Halloween_. It caused all those in the vicinity to stop in their tracks.

Larry quickly put his arms around Matt's shoulder and pulled him close, standing side by side to hide the cat carrier. "I think we should have a father-son hiking trip to the _MEOW_tains."

"The _meow_tains! You mean the _volcano_, Pops_?" _

Terri heard their pathetic attempt to cover up the kitten's meow and flashed the Doctor a nervous smile.

"Did he say _meow_tain?" the Doctor asked Terri quietly, grey brows raised with wary.

"Uh, yes. I believe that's how the kids are saying it these days."

Matt tried to put Roxy in again, but the little thing scratched him causing him to yelp. "Ow! What the hell?"

"Is everything alright over there, Matt?" the fake-father-son duo heard the Chief of Medicine ask.

"We're fine!" Matt replied without so much as a glance at the doctor. "LOVE YOU, _POPS_," he said loudly and awkwardly as he put his arm around Larry, while the other arm held Roxy against him, hiding it from the doctor's curious gaze.

Larry returned the awkward side hug, putting his arm around Matt's shoulder and the two patted each other and tipped their heads between them trying to convincingly be the epitome of a loving family for the doctor.

Instead, the doctor found their behavior to be quite peculiar and continued to gawk at the strange scene that played out before him.

Larry and Matt ever so slowly turned their heads, looking behind them to check and see if the Chief of Medicine had looked away, only to see him staring at them looking quite disturbed. So once again the pair flashed him obvious, forced, awkward grins.

Terri stood there and pinched the bridge of her nose whilst shaking her head in disappointment.

Larry and Matt continued with their identical eerie smiles at Dr. Sinclair while their hands continued to pat each other on the shoulders as if that was the most natural position for two people who weren't up to anything to be doing.

Terri, much to her dismay, saw Sergio stepping out of the carrier, her blue eyes widened and she jutted her chin towards it trying to warn dumb and dumber that there was an escaped kitten. She then hastily grabbed Dr. Sinclair by the shoulders and turned him to face her.

"Doctor!" she said a bit too enthusiastically.

"Yes?" he replied and she was left speechless, unable to bring up a single relevant thing to say to him.

"Uh…" she stammered. "Well, I— you see…" she stammered. "Are you feeling well?"

"I'm perfectly fine." He grumbled. Then a thought occurred. "So that's Matt's father? Interesting."

"Oh? Why?"

"You see… Matt's father had been absent from his life since he was a few months old."

"Well, I guess he's here now! Isn't that great for them?" Terri spoke with much gusto it was becoming a bit daunting for the doctor.

Matt, seeing that Terri had recaptured Dr. Sinclair's attention, was finally able to hand Roxy over to Larry.

Larry tried to calm Roxy before trying to place her in the carrier once again. This time she didn't meow. This time she let out a high pitched whine.

"What was that?" Dr. Sinclair asked.

"What was what?" Terri sang innocently.

"That noise."

"What noise?" She peered at him with large, blue, innocent eyes.

"Sounded like a screeching cat," he scrunched his nose in frustration.

"Cat? What cat? There's no cat," she denied with a soft lilt as she shrugged and gestured vaguely.

"There shouldn't be one!"

"Doctor. Perhaps your hearing is bothering you," Terri suggested.

"Absolutely not! My hearing is perfectly fine. I know I heard a cat."

Terri smiled and nodded. Her blue eyes darted from side to side as an idea popped into her head. She began mouthing randomly not producing a single sound.

The doctor stared, eyes widening as she continued on and he didn't hear her speaking.

Then he heard her say, "It might be some form of…," she began but stopped speaking and continued to move her lips.

"_SOME FORM OF WHAT?_" the doctor hissed in frustration.

"SOME FORM OF TINNITUS!" Terri bellowed.

His eyes widened at the sudden loudness and he clutched his chest for his poor heart had nearly stopped beating.

"Doctor! Are you ok?" Terri continued to play the role of a concerned nurse.

"I- I- I think I need a-a-a mi- minute," he stuttered.

"Sure doctor you do whatever you haaaa-" she trailed off as she saw that Sergio had escaped Matt's grasp and was roaming around the floor.

"Haaa?" the doctor wondered what had made her trail off and began following her gaze.

Her eyes darted in panic and she quickly grabbed hold of the doctor's hands turning him back to face her. "Haaa… hug me!"

"Excuse me?"

She pulled him into an embrace. "I haven't hugged my father since I've moved to Hawaii, and this father-son moment is so touching. And you're like a father to me."

"Nurse Alden!"

"Not that you're old enough to be my father… kind of like an uncle… a young uncle… say how old are you anyway? Is your birthday coming up… ha…ha." She was doing an exceptional job of putting her foot in her mouth.

"Nurse Alden… are _you_ feeling alright?"

"Me? Oh yes, I'm fine," she answered and threw her head back and chuckled in an attempt to throw the doctor off. "Why'd you ask?" she blinked a couple of times trying to convince him of her sincerity.

He pulled away from Terri's hug, almost pushing her away, as if being in contact with her meant he might catch whatever was causing her to act as strange as Ozzy Osbourne biting off the head of a live bat.

Matt, on the other hand, was having a swell time behind the doctor, scrambling after the kitten gone amok, practically crawling on the floor and much to his horror and Larry's and Terri's, Sergio remained slick.

Sergio ended up running up to a familiar person, Larry. Rather than being out in the open the kitten simply wanted to hide and ended up crawling up Larry's pants' leg.

Larry yelped as Sergio's claws dug into his leg as it began its trek upwards.

Dr. Sinclair heard and turned around to see a sight of Matt crouching down low by Larry's leg while Larry looked like he was holding in a fart.

The Doctor's sudden turn around made Larry hide Roxy by stuffing it under his shirt in panic. He attempted to mask his pain as he felt not only Sergio's claws in his leg but his Roxy's claws as well on his abdomen. He folded his arms attempting to hide the bulge in his shirt that was Roxy and through a forced, eerie grin Larry nodded at the doctor who looked at him curiously.

"Nurse Alden, I think I'm going to… go into my office and um… rest for a bit before driving home."

"Good idea Doctor! You do that! Get your much-needed rest," she said encouragingly, unintentionally giving Dr. Sinclair a hard pat on the shoulder making him wince.

Matt got up slowly straightened up from having been hunched over near Larry's leg from when he had been trying to get Sergio. Rubbing the back of his neck tentatively, Matt let out a nervous chuckle.

"It was nice to meet you, Mr. Richardson," the doctor said to Larry who shot him a puzzled look.

"Uh I have my mother's last name," Matt covered quickly.

"Oh uh, then nice to meet you mister…," he trailed off as he extended a hand out to Larry.

Larry felt Sergio squirm and it tickled him. "Dallas!" he ended up half-shouting at the doctor while trying to suppress a laugh.

The Chief of Medicine nearly bulked. He was getting shouted at out of the blue too frequently for his comfort.

"Lawrence Dallas," he added making sure to ignore the outstretched hand as he smiled and nodded. He found himself unable to shake the doctor's hand for he kept his arms folded trying to keep Roxy still and hidden under his shirt.

Dr. Sinclair dropped his hand awkwardly after being denied of his handshake. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Dallas."

Then in a low mutter, he said to Terri through a gritted grin while keeping his questioning gaze on Larry, "Curious fellow." His gaze shifted back to the nurse and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the deranged look on her face.

Terri continued to smile at him with a wide-open mouth grin and staring at him with raised brows, reminding him she was acting just as peculiar as Matt's father.

He shook his head at her, then at the father-son duo before he left leaving the lobby ever so confused. He gathered he needed some rest and get his hearing checked out. And maybe seek a therapist himself while at it. Perhaps he should recommend the lot of them a therapist as well.

Once the doctor was out of sight, Larry quickly took Roxy out from under his shirt and handed her over to Matt (who happily cuddled the small cat). Larry mutters of pain escaping his lips as he did so. His next task was to coax Sergio to go back down his leg rather than climb up, an uncomfortable situation for both of them. With a shake of his leg and gentle pushing, Sergio only dug his tiny sharp claws deeper into Larry's leg.

"Take your pants off," Terri suggested.

"Why Terri, if you wanted me to- _OW_!" he was cut off by Sergio further digging its claws into his leg. Larry had unzipped his pants ready to pull them down when he realized Matt was there, staring with a smirk ready to laugh at his expense. "No."

Terri shot him a tired look before ordering him to "Drop 'em".

Her authoritative tone made Larry do as he was told. He promptly pulled his slacks down revealing himself in tighty-whiteys earning a chuckle from Terri and Matt.

"Ok, enough," Larry grumbled.

Sergio's little head popped out and he jumped out of Larry's pants, his little tail between his legs in fright.

"Ohh poor baby," Terri cooed scooping up the kitten.

"More like poor Larry," he whined pulling his pants back up.

Terri and Matt exchanged looks, a mutual agreement that they believed Larry was over exaggerating.

Matt stood beside Terri and scratched Sergio's head. "He's so fast for such a little guy."

"Ok, ok. Enough standing around petting kittens. We have to get these babies put away. And Matt, you too."

Confused, Matt asked, "Put away?"

"Go. To. Your. _Room_." Terri spelled it out.

"Oh. Right. Night Nurse Alden. Good night kitties," he said with one last pat to Sergio's head. Then he turned to Larry with a smug grin. "Night… _Pops_."

"Good night you little bas-"

"Larry!" Terri chided.

"I'm kidding!" he cried defensively. "It was a pleasure to meet you kid," Larry said giving the kid a soft punch in his arm.

"Feh, sure," Matt said handing over Roxy to him but not before giving the tiny kitten a kiss on the head. "Night," he uttered one last time before leaving the lobby and heading to his assigned hospital room.

"Night," both Terri and Larry said after him as watched him leave.

"Don't be so hard on Matt. He's had it rough," Terri said once Matt was finally gone. She gave her little Sergio one little kiss on his head before placing him into the carrier.

"He called me a creepy old fart! Me! Old?" Larry exclaimed.

Terri shot him her judgmental look. "Well, you provoked him."

"He started it!"

"Larry, he's a kid."

"Feh, whatever," Larry said mimicking Matt's vernacular as he attempted to put Roxy into the carrier.

The kitten wouldn't have it. She began her wailing of protest once again.

"Oh, give her to me." She took Roxy from Larry and gently stroked the small black fluff.

"Oh right, like you could do any-," Larry began until he heard Terri began to hum.

A soft familiar tune.

Terri's usual high energy had mellowed out as she took gentle care of the kitten and Larry couldn't help but find himself entranced by her softness in that moment.

Just as how he found her humming to be tranquil and comforting, Roxy did, too, as the little kitten calmed down and its once panicked behavior was no longer present.

With that Terri was able to place the small kitten into the carrier without trouble.

"Wow, how did you know to do that?"

"Psychology," she claimed with a shrug. She saw that wasn't enough of an answer for Larry and she continued to explain as she got ready to leave work. "You know, you hum to them all the time. Especially when you're petting them then they get all cozied up to you and settle down. And thanks to Pavlov's theory on conditioning, I thought I'd give it a try."

"Conditioning?"

"Yeah. Well, in a way you've conditioned them to feel safe and secure every time you sing to them. So I tried to create the same atmosphere and it worked."

Larry nodded at her explanation while taking the cat carrier off the counter. "It happens to be one of my favorite songs," he told her expecting her to be surprised by the coincidence.

"I know."

"You know?" It came as a shock to Larry.

She smiled at him. "Yeah. You're always idly humming it to the kittens," Terri told him. "_Stars shining bright above you_," she began singing softly as they began heading out.

"_Night breezes seem to whisper 'I love you'"_ Larry continued on, adding a little bit of his own flair in the inflection of the last few words as he shook his head to the tune whilst looking at Terri as if the lyrics were meant for her. She simply rolled her eyes at him, but playfully, lacking the usual amount of disdain. "You know," he began, "you're not half bad when you're not screeching like a banshee."

"You're one to judge. You can barely carry a tune yourself!"

"Hey, my musical talent got Jack a date if I remember correctly."

"The wrong girl showed up! And if _I _remember correctly, when you sang at the Bistro, your singing drove his customers away!"

"What about all those guys that praised me?"

"Janet and I asked them to flirt with you so you'd stop."

"What?! Why?"

"You were driving customers away, Larry! And Jack, God Bless him, but he really needed the business."

Larry tipped his head back a bit and thought about it. "You sure it wasn't the ketchup on the steak?"

"It's Ket-sup.," Terri corrected his pronunciation. "Maybe it was both," she said with a shrug.

* * *

Thank you all for reading!

Thanks for the reviews as well. I crave the validation. Y'all have been so kind.


	10. A Man in Terri's Life

I'm sorry for the slow updates and short chapters. I just do not have the time or energy because of work. I'm thinking of quitting just so I can work on this fic and finish it. No—, but this job has been eating up a lot of my time and I'm not thrilled.

* * *

**A Man in Terri's Life**

Terri kept glancing at her wristwatch as she put organized patients' files; the seconds couldn't tick by fast enough. She was getting off of work early (Thursdays being her half-day). She had taken her car to work instead of having Larry drop her off since it was only for a few hours, and at the moment she was regretting it. She wanted him to pick her up so she could start unwinding once she was in the car like she had been doing the previous days instead of having the stress of driving home.

Like last night, she had been able to immediately plop herself into the passenger seat of her car, take the precious little kittens out of the carrier, and start unwinding from a long day at work and from the stress of having had had the kittens loose in the hospital; letting the tension roll off of her as she cuddled and petted her tiny companions.

However, in that moment of relaxation, there was a moment of tension brought on by Larry or her own mind working overtime, making something out of nothing. She wasn't sure.

She remembered leaning her head against the headrest and shutting her eyes with the kittens in her lap as she gently scratched them. She had heard Larry getting into the driver's side and not a moment later, she felt him lean across her. She snapped her eyes open and was met only with the sight of his shadowed features.

"_Just_ _what are you doing?_" she had hissed at him.

He stopped in his tracks at her sudden, snappish questioning; hovering there as he slightly turned his head to meet her scowl.

Terri was made painfully aware of their close proximity; she could feel his body heat radiating off of him warming her cheeks while his cologne assaulted her nose and she found it nauseating. He was nauseating.

Even in the darkness, she noticed how the corners of his lips tugged into a smirk. Then when his lips parted she found herself holding her breath in suspense. She wondered if she should deck him for coming on strong.

"Being your guardian angel," she heard him reply in a low whisper.

Larry's answer only furthered her confusion.

Her pulse raced once he lifted his left hand and it came up near the side of her face. She would have squirmed away if she wasn't already sitting in the passenger seat. She did what her gut told her to do.

She punched him. An uppercut. Square in the jaw.

As he fell back into his seat from the blow, she realized he had merely grabbed for the seatbelt and wasn't trying to make a move.

Knocked back and sitting in the driver's seat, Larry bawled. "What the _hell_, Terri!?" He let go of the seatbelt and it had recoiled back to its position, not before crossing a very remorseful Terri.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't expecting- I thought you were trying to- oh! I- I'm _so_ sorry!"

He clutched his face. "Out of the goodness of my heart! With the utmost concern for human life! I try to keep you safe and you assume the worst of me!" he wailed melodramatically. "My intentions were nothing but pure and-, "

Suddenly she wasn't feeling too bad about punching him. "Alright! I get it," Terri said cutting off his soon to be dramatic monologue. "I'm not a child. I can buckle myself in."

Terri turned the car's dome light on. "Here let me see," she offered and gently turned his face so that she could assess the damage she had caused.

"Ow! Careful."

"We'll have to ice it once we get home."

"Maybe you can kiss it better." He tried to grin but ended up grimacing.

"Here," she said bringing up Roxy allowing the small kitten to sniff at his face.

He grumbled as he settled down into his seat and started the car. "Thank you, sweet Roxy."

Terri chuckled to herself as she recalled the memory. Larry was over the top but at least he was sweet. Perhaps that made him a little more tolerable.

"What's so funny?" the question drew Terri out of her musings.

Terri turned towards the voice and greeted brightly. "Hey, Lauren. What's up?"

"Mmm nothing much," Lauren replied. Her dark keen eyes gleamed as she gave a playful smile. "But you… you're more chipper lately," she noted. "So tell me, what's changed in our dear Terri's life?"

The first thing that popped into Terri's head was _Larry_.

She shook her head to no one in particular as she pushed such a ridiculous notion out of her head.

Larry, of all people, couldn't have possibly been the reason she was "more chipper lately" as Lauren had claimed. He was someone who was constantly giving her a headache. Because of him, her couch was occupied. She had to share a bathroom. He was the reason was having a stressful day with having to avoid Dr. Sinclair. He was also the reason she wasn't going to bed early at night because they ended up chatting instead …

Terri merely shrugged in response.

"You seem to be all in your head lately, then you break out into a smile. Curious… _and_ you've been humming."

"Humming huh?" She wondered. "People hum while working," she stated with another shrug and moved on to other tasks to finish up.

"Yeah, but this is a recent development."

"You're reading too much into things."

"Is it some hunk?" Lauren suggested with a nudge.

Terri laughed and followed it up with a scoff. "The only man in my life currently is that guy from back in L.A. And he is no hunk."

"The guy crashing at your place? Larry, was it?"

"Yes. That freeloader."

"He doesn't have anything to do with you being all… smiley? Does he?"

"_Larry?!_ Of course not. If I'm smiling it certainly isn't because of Larry."

"So, what was it?"

Terri cocked her head thoughtfully. A sly smile came up to her face. "Well, I guess there is a new man in my life."

"Do tell!"

"His name is Sergio."

Lauren ooed at the small detail. "He sounds… intriguing."

"Yes. He's dark, playful, and fussy."

"Fussy?"

"Yes. And small."

"Like a little person?"

"And furry."

"What?"

"Sergio's my new kitten," Terri revealed to the other nurse.

Lauren rolled her eyes playfully and followed up with a snigger. "Uh-huh, I remember you mentioning some kittens."

"Speaking of small and new, how's your baby?" Terri asked.

"She's doing great! Jessica's crawling— and oh, she's trying to speak. Nothing yet, but she's babbling."

"Aww, that's nice," Terri crooned.

"She's growing up so fast! I can't believe it's already been a year and a half since I went through with IVF! That whole process to have this little one!"

"I can't believe you decided to have a baby alone."

"I don't need to be attached to some man just because I wanted a baby."

"Yeah, I had a friend back in L.A who um, propositioned my roommate, Jack, to have a baby with her."

"Really? What happened?"

"Jack was— _is_— in love with Janet. They're getting married soon."

"Oh so, of course, she didn't let him."

"Well he misunderstood and thought Janet was encouraging him to have a baby with my friend," Terri said recalling the events.

"I… what kind of …what…" as a person who hadn't been a part of the trio's life back in Santa Monica the tidbit of information left her puzzled.

"So of course Jack couldn't go through with it… but uh, Larry showed up," Terri added the last bit with a shake of her head.

"_Larry_ showed up?" Lauren repeated, confounded.

"Yeah… I don't know either."

"This guy wants kids?"

"I don't think so… he's… just a horn-dog."

"This Larry sounds like a…handful."

"Tell me about it!" Terri cried sounding miffed. "Yesterday night he brought the kittens to the hospital and Dr. Sinclair almost found out! Larry also got into a tiff with that malpractice lawyer— and then he _hits _on her! He hits on anything with a heartbeat, I swear! On top of all this, he's at my place because his place is still not ready. He's making long-distance calls on _my_ phone to California because of his job. He's using my car to run errands as well. He couldn't even pick me up on time the other day," Terri ranted with complete and utter exasperation.

"And yet you tolerate his company," Lauren simply stated.

It made Terri pause. She herself wasn't exactly sure why she hadn't just dropped him off at a car rental and have him figure out his own troubled situation. "Jack and Janet kept him around so I guess now I have a high tolerance of him," she finally stated with a shake of her head.

Lauren nodded at the explanation before another curious thought made her smirk. "So any new developments with…" she trailed off looking around making sure other coworkers weren't around to hear them.

Terri smirked knowing exactly what her friend was talking about. "Well when Larry was late picking me up, I did end up having a chat—"

"Hello there, ladies," and oh so annoying, a familiar voice greeted them, cutting Terri off from talking about her encounter.

Terri looked over in surprise while Lauren raised her brows amiably at the man who was donning a deep violet shirt which was practically left unbuttoned and grey slacks as he sauntered up to them as if he was god's gift to … to the world.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Terri asked.

"What else? I'm here to pick up my best girl from work," he replied playfully.

Lauren nodded as she checked him out and found him easy on the eyes. "Wow, Terri. I thought you said there wasn't a hunk in your life," she remarked.

The playfulness quickly disappeared from his face and he replaced it with sad eyes and a pout. "Terri never mentioned me before?" he asked sounding hurt. He sucked his teeth and bit his knuckle while turning away from them. His shoulders slumped over as he tried to appear emotionally wounded. "Why? Are you ashamed of me, my dear?" his question coming out in a whimper.

Terri rolled her eyes at his exaggerated acting. "No, Lauren, I'm not seeing…" she paused as she looked him up and down with the corner of her lips pulling back into a sneer. "_Larry_," she spat his name with disgust.

"Oh, so this is Larry? The freeloader?"

"Yup."

He perked up, disregarding their insulting description of him. "Lauren is it?" Larry asked suddenly turning back with a slanted smile and hooded eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The brunette nurse found him charismatic and smiled fondly. "Enchanté," she said holding out her hand to be shaken. Larry instead took her hand and gently kissed the back of it.

Terri gave a tired sigh. "I'd advise you to stay away from him," she warned her friend. "Don't fall for his—"

"Charms?" Lauren finished for Terri.

"No…," Terri rested a finger on her chin as she said thoughtfully. "Not that. He doesn't have any of that."

"I'm right here." Larry frowned.

"More like… underhanded, despicable, manipulation tactics," Terri finished whilst ignoring his complaint. "He's a used car salesman," she added with a sneer.

"It's an honest job," the other nurse stated with a shrug.

"_Thank you_," he said gratefully. "See that Terri? She gets it."

"Not the way he does it," Terri quipped.

"Hey, hey! I do what I gotta do to get by," Larry defended himself.

"So what _are_ you doing here?" Terri asked again, having not received an answer yet.

"I have a surprise for you," he said.

"Oh no. Not again," Terri paled remembering the disaster from the previous night.

"Relax, I didn't bring Sergio and Roxy."

"So what is it then?"

"It's not a surprise if I tell you."

"Where is it?" She said peering around him to see if he had it on him.

"It's outside," Larry informed her.

"Outside?!" Terri cried with confusion. "How did you get here anyway?" she then wondered since she had driven her car to work.

"Rode your broom," Larry replied jokingly.

Terri ignored Larry's jibe and checked the time. "Ok, Lauren, I guess I'm off," she said to her friend. "I'm just going to clock out and get my things. I'll be right back," she informed them before leaving to do just that.

"So, _you're_ Larry?" Lauren asked sounding like she had acquired all the dirt on him.

"Well this doesn't sound good," Larry responded nervously.

Lauren laughed. "Single?"

"Absolutely, gorgeous." He bit his bottom lip and attempted to give a smoldering look.

"Do you like kids?" she asked, confusing Larry in the process.

"Uh… I don't hate them…"

"I heard you like making kids."

"What? I don't have any kids."

"None that you know of, right?" Lauren said, once again throwing Larry in for a loop.

He could only stare and study her face as panic began to set in. "Have we…met before?"

She threw her head back and cackled then asked, "Would you like to see a picture of my baby?"

Larry's eye widened unsure where things were going.

"Don't worry she's not yours. Well, maybe she is. Did you attend MIT?"

"No..."

"Hmm people can lie on their applications though," she said thoughtfully pulling out her wallet.

Once again he could only stare, not having a clue as to what was happening.

"Here," she said opening her wallet and pulling out a small picture. "That's my little girl, Jessica," she said handing it over.

"Ah." He nodded taking it and giving it a glance (a part of him still nervous). "Cute," he mumbled handing it back over.

"Ready," Terri announced. "Aw is that Jessica?"

"It sure is," Lauren answered. Then she looked at Terri and cocked her head before asking, "Aren't you going to change out of your scrubs?"

"Why?" Terri wondered.

"Aren't you two going out?"

"No." Terri looked at Lauren questioningly.

"Maybe we can go out and have something?" Larry suggested.

"Oh, what does it matter," Terri said with a wave of her hand. "It's not like I need to dress up and try to impress this guy."

"You see that?" he asked Lauren sounding upset. "I put in all this effort to look good for her and she doesn't even bother," he said as he gestured to his outfit.

"That reminds me! Will you button up!" Terri chided pointing at Larry's exposed chest. "You look like you're getting prepped for open-heart surgery," she chastised with a shake of her head.

"I think it's sexy," Lauren stated unhelpfully.

"At least _somebody_ appreciates my efforts," he said with dramatic huff earning himself a chuckle from Lauren.

Terri tipped her head back and rolled her eyes. "Bye, sweetie," she said to the other nurse as she began to head out.

"It was very lovely to meet you, Lauren," said Larry before following Terri out while buttoning up like he was told to.

"Okay, bye you two," Lauren said waving them off.

As they made their way through the hospital, Terri ran into other staff members and said her goodbyes, merely waving at them as she continued on. That was until she ran into a certain man, whose build look familiar to Larry.

Terri's demeanor quickly changed as she straightened her back and stood taller. Quickly untying her hair that had been swept up into a ponytail and running her fingers through it to smooth it out. She cocked her head to one side, letting her tresses spill over her shoulder.

"Hello Terri," he greeted showing off his dazzling smile. "Or is it good-bye?"

"Unfortunately a good-bye. How about you?"

"Not for another couple of hours."

"Oh too bad. We could've grabbed a bite afterward."

"Maybe I can take my break n-"

"C'mon Terri, let's go," Larry whined as he took a hold of her wrist and began leading her away.

The abrupt nature of pulled away had Terri not only stumbling but also had her confused. "_Larry_!?"

He simply ignored her protest and continued walking, taking long quick strides, not once slowing down until they were out of the hospital.

Terri yanked her hand out of his grasp and stopped in her tracks. "What the hell, Larry?" she shouted at him.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Why did you pull me away like that? I was talking to someone!"

"You don't need to stop and say goodbye to everyone. It was taking too long."

"Ugh, you're unbelievable!"

"I just want to show you what I got."

Terri heaved a heavy sigh and gestured for Larry to lead the way which he gladly did with a pep in his step while telling her just how amazed she was going to be once she laid her eyes on it.

"So?" he said, just only one word and it was teeming with excitement.

She merely stood back with her arms folded and looked at it.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"It's… nice."

"Just nice?! It's a Corvette! V-8 engine! Two-hundred and five horsepower! This baby is amazing," he said circling the car and polishing a random spot with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Okay, okay. It looks really cool," she conceded. "How are you able to afford this anyways?"

Larry suddenly went quiet. Then mumbled, "You could say I'm borrowing it."

Terri shot him a disapproving look. "It's one of the cars you're supposed to be selling, isn't it?"

"What's a couple of miles?" he shrugged offhandedly.

"Remind me to never buy a car from you."

"Oh just hop in," he said opening the passenger side for her.

Just as Terri almost got into the car they heard her name being called by a man, causing both to look in the direction.

Terri immediately perked up while Larry suddenly felt perturbed.

He knew why Terri perked up, but he couldn't fathom at all what about that guy made him so agitated. He didn't even know the guy and hadn't spent more than three minutes in his presence.

"Hey!" Terri greeted excitedly taking a few steps towards the guy.

He half jogged over to them, and Larry found himself hoping the guy would trip.

"Terri…uh," he began a bit out of breath. He then looked over at Larry. "Hi, I'm Honi," he said introducing himself.

Terri gave a nervous giggle and replied, "Yeah, I know." Then she followed his gaze and realized he was talking to Larry. "Oh haha! Silly me," she said laughing at herself. "This is my _friend_ Larry."

The emphasis on "friend" didn't go unnoticed by Larry.

"Nice to meet you, Larry," Honi said with a courteous smile with his hand outstretched for a shake.

Larry slammed the car door shut and walked over to the other man, putting on one of his best customer service smiles. "Nice to meet you too, bud," he said cheerfully and shook the guy's hand a little too enthusiastically.

Honi had to practically wrench his hand away. He then shifted his attention back to Terri. "So uh Terri."

"Yes, Mr. Kahele?"

"Please, it's Honi. Mr. Kahele is my grandfather."

Larry raised a brow. "Not your father?"

"No. he's Doctor."

The response only added to Larry's dislike for the guy.

Terri, however, laughed as if it was the funniest thing on Earth. "Really? He's a doctor?"

"Yes, a professor. But that's not important at the moment."

"Oh?" Terri tipped her and looked at him with a coy smile. "And just what is so important you practically ran over here?"

"Well, now you're making it sound like I've rushed over here because of some emergency."

"Will you just spit it out," came Larry. "Uh I mean, I'm just so hungry. Plus, I did leave our babies at home all alone."

"Babies?" Honi questioned.

Terri forced out a laugh and then glared at Larry. "He means the kittens. I got a couple of kittens."

"Oh. That's nice."

"They're really cute," Terri continued.

"I'm sure they are-"

"Can we move this along," Larry grumbled cutting him off. "I mean uh. I'd like to get something to eat."

"Oh yes, of course. So Terri."

"Yes?"

"I was hoping to ask you out for Saturday afternoon… to uh… a picnic at the park."

"I would love to!" Terri crooned excitedly and Larry could only roll his eyes.

"Great! It's a date."

"It definitely is!" she replied ever so enthusiastically and it almost made Larry mock her for it.

"Thought it was something important," Larry muttered.

"Oh it was." Honi retorted with a wink which made Terri giggle delightfully. "Well see you around then," he said as he began to leave.

"Yeah, see you around," Terri said and she practically swooned as she waved him off.

"Can we go now? Or do we have to stand here and make sure he gets back to the hospital safely?"

"Why are you so grouchy?"

"He saw you leaving with me! He just decides to come all the way out here and ask you out without any regard to me! How can he assume we're not going out on a date?" Larry whined pathetically.

Terri rolled her eyes as she opened the car door. "No person in their right mind would think I'd want to be involved with you," she claimed while getting into the car.

"Is this the guy you've shared a few meals with?"

"Yeah."

"You owe me lunch," he said as he hopped into the driver's side.

"What for?!" her voice going up in an octave, perplexed.

"He was probably jealous."

"Of what?"

"Of me taking you out. If it weren't for me, he would have never made his move."

"Just admit that you're cheap and just trying to finesse a free meal out of me."

"Fine. Where to Terri?"

"Freeloader," Terri mumbled as she buckled herself in.

* * *

Thanks for tuning in.

Thank you to my special friends for pushing me.

I'm sorry I didn't edit.

I love you all.


	11. Memory Lane

A/N: Hello! I have no excuses. Corvid19 lockdown and yet I'm lagging behind.

Um like from the lyrics of a song my friend recommended to me _"We're collecting moments". _So... it's slow...

This is a continuation of the previous chapter. It's NOT that big of a deal but I guess a little head's up since I don't want you guys thinking somethings are mentioned out of the blue. Prepare for some cheesiness.

Thanks for returning! Stay safe! Don't touch ya face.

* * *

**Memory Lane**

_Thwap!_

The sound of a hand connecting with the side of Larry's face. The same hand he had just been clutching within his own two while he made a sleazy pass at her.

She had just taken their orders and placed their beers on the counter when Larry simply couldn't help himself.

Terri gave a closed mouth, satisfied chuckle at his well-deserved slap to the face. In her sweetest voice, Terri introduced them to each other. "Leilani, this is Larry, a low life rat from L.A." She then turned to Larry, who was rubbing his reddening cheek with a grimace. The grin from her face turned into a frown. "Larry," she said firmly, "don't be so crass."

He pointed to his face. Distraught and wide-eyed, his lips quivered as if he was about to cry. "She slapped me!" he complained in a high pitched voice.

"_You deserved it!_" both women said at the same time.

Terri then turned her attention back to their bartender and looked on apologetically. "I'm really sorry about …_Larry_," she spat his name as if even simply saying his name left a vile taste in her mouth.

"Don't sweat it 'cuz. It's not your fault he's a perv'. I'll be back with your orders."

He turned towards Terri and pouted. "You're a nurse. I am in _pain_. You should be tending to my injury."

The nurse sighed. "Let me look at it," she said grabbing his chin (not at all taking care to be gentle) and turning his head so she could get a better look.

Larry closed his eyes and with a deviant smirk, he leaned into her touch.

She quickly withdrew her hand, revolted by his antics. But then she put on a fake smile. "Don't worry," she assured him cupping his reddening cheek and he seemed to relish in her touch once more.

"It's. Not. That. Bad." She punctuated by smacking his already wounded cheek.

Larry grimaced and opened his mouth in pain. He grabbed his mug of beer and held it against his hurt cheek. "For a nurse, you sure aren't very sympathetic," he grumbled.

Terri took a sip from her own mug ignoring his remark. "I shouldn't have brought you here," she grumbled regretting her choices to bring him to _the Lucky Urchin_ (a bar she regularly frequented).

"I just wanted to be introduced… and maybe get a phone number."

"Ugh men."

"What's Lauren's deal?" he asked out of the blue.

"Please stay away from my friends. I can't have you humping everything that moves, I don't want to have to remove your testicles."

"_She_ was the one flirting with me."

"Ha!" she scoffed incredulously.

"I mean I'm not going to ask her out. Married women are a hassle to deal with. Too much …husband."

"She's not married."

"So the baby's father isn't in the picture," he sounded curious.

"No. She had baby Jessica through IVF."

"What?"

"Sperm bank."

"Oh." he nodded, taking a sip of his beer. "I can't believe people are that determined to have a kid. Meanwhile, I'm taking extra precautions just to make sure that doesn't happen."

Terri rolled her eyes. "Mm!" she squeaked, recalling her friend she had set Jack up with. "If I remember correctly when my friend wanted to have Jack's baby, you showed up at her door?"

"Yeah?"

"You were willing to have a baby just so you could have sex for one night?!" she shouted unable to comprehend how desperate he was for sex.

"Shh!" He waved a hand trying to get her to lower her voice. "No!"

"Then what were you planning on doing?"

"I was just going to seduce her away from Jack."

Terri threw her head back and cackled. "Good one," she managed to huff out after calming herself down from having a good laugh. "Like Cheryl would've picked you over Jack!"

"I'm a catch," he said somewhat defensively.

She cackled again and it started to bruise his ego.

"Janet wanted to marry me."

Terri stopped her laughing immediately and peered at him with wide-eyed curiosity. "Janet? Janet Wood Janet? The one I shared a room with for three years? The small, dark one, Janet?"

He coolly turned on the barstool and leaned back against the counter as though he hadn't said anything shocking. His eyes narrowed as he stared off into the distance like he was some cowboy in a western as he reflected on the past event. "Poor kid," he murmured. "I had to let her down," he said, shaking his head with pity.

Another bout of laughter began to bubble up within her and she was having a hard time containing it. "Janet? Marry you?" she managed to blurt out.

"It was my fault," he spoke wistfully. "I was in love, too, and asked her out."

The urge to laugh out loud was gone and Terri found herself growing with curiosity. The thought of Larry being in love with Janet, sure she could believe that. But Janet wanting to marry him? It was ridiculous and improbable. Why hadn't Janet told her! No, she was definitely missing something. There was no way Janet would have been… Not even if Janet lost her mind would she have ever wanted to marry … Larry.

"I walked into the apartment, we were left alone for a few moments and she was all over me. That Janet. She was truly wild."

Terri looked Larry up and down, assessing him and thinking about what he had just said. Was there any reason a woman with at least half their brain intact would be all over him?

He had dark, gleaming eyes—no, they were shifty and beady. They were paired with equally dark, expressive brows— nothing more than two caterpillars on his face. His playful smile—more like a devious smirk. Thick, luscious black locks— resembled a fuzzball, dust bunny. And of course, he still had a few buttons missing on his shirt showing off his hard, muscular…chest—

"Then Chrissy and Janet started planning a wedding! She was head-over-heels in love with me, Terri!"

"Larry, by any chance, did something happen that gave you amnesia? A case of false memories?"

He chuckled softly. "She couldn't have me so she settled for the next best thing: Jack."

Terri tried to stifle a laugh and it proved to be unsuccessful. He was out of his mind and absolutely full of himself. She was sure of it.

He then added proudly, speaking like he was the coach of the L.A. Lakers, "I taught him all I knew."

She continued to laugh hysterically at him for his absurdity but finally began to cool down once she saw Leilani come back with her order. "My sandwich!" she exclaimed sitting upright and making room on the counter for her plate of food. "Thank you, Leilani!" she sang once the food was placed in front of her.

"You're very welcome," she replied to Terri sweetly. "Your steak is going to take a while," Leilani informed Larry curtly.

Larry frowned a bit, but then perked up. "It's ok. I'll just have some of Terri's food."

"No way! If you want your food quickly, you don't order steak," Terri lectured. Larry mocked her before stealing a fry off of her plate. "Hey!"

"It's just a French fry, woman."

"It's seasoned!" she stated passionately as she pushed her plate farther away from him and shielded it with her body.

"Stingy."

Terri took hold of her sandwich and just as she was about to devour it when Larry bumped her from the back. She looked over her shoulders and glared daggers at him. He returned an impish and pretended to look around. She reverted her attention back to her food so Larry made an attempt to disrupt her again.

"Bump me again and lose that arm of yours," she threatened without so much of a glance and Larry found himself backing off. How had she known he would try it again?

He turned around on his stool and leaned back against the counter as he surveyed the bar. The place wasn't huge, but it did have plenty of customers and some of them happened to be exceptionally stunning.

"Look what we have here," he said. Terri looked over her shoulders and saw quite an exceptionally gorgeous woman walk into the bar alone.

Larry's eyes followed her every move as she made her way over to her awaiting friend. "Excuse me while I go introduce myself to my future Saturday night date," he said before getting up and walking away.

The woman hadn't even sat down yet and Larry was already making his move.

Terri rolled her eyes and turned back to her food, happy to be finally eating.

Leilani came back and placed Larry's dish next to her and Terri found her mouth watering at the sight of the thick, juicy looking steak and crispy breaded shrimp. Her club sandwich was good, but his meal looked so much more appetizing. She decided he wouldn't mind if she took a bite, after all he had taken food off of her plate.

She didn't dig into his food right away, instead taking a cursory glance towards Larry to make sure he was occupied. And of course, he was, having already made himself comfortable taking a seat in the booth next to his target. That's when she saw him gesture towards her. The woman who he had been making a move on and her friend looked over then nodded.

Terri wondered what he had said that involved her. Entirely forgetting about the food, she turned in her seat completely, crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze at him with cynicism.

She watched as the woman dug into her purse and pulled out what Terri gathered was a business card. He accepted it graciously and walked back to Terri, beaming as he waved the small piece of paper at her.

"What did you tell her involving me?" Terri asked tersely once he settled down in this seat.

"Told her I was a plastic surgeon and when she didn't believe me, I pointed you out saying you were a colleague of mine. Your scrubs really sold the story."

"What!?"

"Then I told her _we _thought she has amazing features and would like to suggest to our clients."

"_You deceitful, lying, man-whore_."

"Yeah well..." he trailed off brushing off the insults thrown at him as he focused his attention on his meal.

"Do I look like Jack Tripper to you?"

"Not at all. He wouldn't look as sexy in scrubs."

His flattery meant nothing to her, and she promptly got up from her seat and walked over to the two women.

"I'm not a plastic surgeon. Neither is that idiot over there." She said pointing a thumb in Larry's direction.

"Uh, that's… wonderful?" Rather than upset or angry Larry had lied to her, the woman seemed confused by Terri's statement.

"He lied to you," she said, trying to make her point across.

"Oh... so you don't like my necklace?"

"Your… your necklace?" It was Terri's turn to be confused.

Her hand with perfectly manicured nails went to play with the pendant attached to her necklace. "He said you might like it."

"Me?"

"For your anniversary."

"Anniversary?"

"So I gave him the business card to the jeweler."

"Uh…thanks…?" she turned her head and loudly hissed "_Larry!_" in his direction to only see him sitting there watching her and sniggering. She turned back and flashed a wide, awkward smile as she slowly back peddled, before fully turning and walking back briskly.

"_Why would you do that?_" She growled taking her seat again.

"I was caught looking at her chest. Had to think up something," he admitted with a shrug.

"Unbelievable. So you lied to me and made me look like a fool."

"Well if you hadn't gone over none of this would have happened."

"You think I want to be a party to your skeezy scheme?"

"So I say things that put me in a better light."

"That's a nice way to phrase that you lie."

He simply sighed. "Remind me again what you said to Lauren when you were trying to discredit me?"

"Underhanded, despicable…"

"No. I mean yes, but also, you said I was a used car salesman."

"Huh?"

"Because of my job people automatically dislike me. They don't even bother giving me a chance."

She nodded at his explanation. "Before they even get to know you, huh?" she seemed to understand. Then with a joking smile, she added, "Saves them time in my opinion." She gently elbowed him in his side.

He ignored her latter comment. "So you see my problem?"

"Yes. But also, deceiving women like that is just a lousy thing to do, Larry. What happens if things get serious?"

"They won't," he said softly, taking on a somewhat sullen tone.

"Gross." She hadn't noticed the slight change in his voice. "So you just use women for your own sexual gratification?! We're _not_ sex objects." Terri snapped.

It hadn't been what he meant. He just felt that when women got to know him, they didn't quite like to stick around. Not that he gave them much reason to stick around either. So it was just easier to look for something casual. "We both have fun. Where's the harm in a little fun?"

"Because it sucks, Larry! Being fed lines and lies. We're the ones who put our trust in someone and it all turns out to be some act to just fulfill some lust and get left."

Even though Larry had listened to her reasoning the words somehow still didn't register. For him the answer to her problem was simple: don't assume anything more. One date after another, never really giving it time to settle into something deep that one couldn't get out of.

He popped a piece of steak into his mouth. Grumbling under his breath as he chewed his food.

"What was that?"

He swallowed his morsel of food and looked at her. "Why are women so difficult?" he said loudly and clearly for her to hear.

She had the urge to take his plate and dump the contents all over his head, but she held back. Years of being a nurse and dealing with infuriating patients allowed her to maintain control. "What is so hard to understand?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Her eyes had a menacing look, but it hadn't fazed him at all. "I've been dumped plenty, and I move on."

"Because you didn't give part of yourself. You didn't get a chance to be vulnerable. In fact, you probably took advantage of women once they opened up to you, then dumped them once you had your fill. You have no idea what it's like to be repeatedly used. To give and get nothing in return! No, worse than nothing, I'm left with more broken pieces in my life than when I started."

"Hey go out with me and I'll teach you how to have a fun time and you won't be left feeling miserable."

"You can't even pretend to sympathize! You don't respect us! And that's why it would be absolutely idiotic and stupid of me to even waste my time going out with you!"

"Calm, down."

"No! I'm here literally spoon-feeding you reasons to not be such a scumbag and you dismiss it easily? You're being disrespectful and you tell me I need to calm down and that I'm complicated. You…you can't even be a decent friend to me. You're …you're heartless."

Her words stung and he winced.

Terri began readying herself to leave but Larry asked her to stop.

"Wait. Where are you gonna go? I drove you here," he reminded her and she settled back down into her seat. "Okay, look. I just thought you and I," he said gesturing between them, "are … similar!"

"You think I'm like _you_?" she sounded completely offended.

"You know a flirt. We get around."

"_Excuse me?_"

"No! No, no." He was someone who usually said what they wanted unapologetically, but Terri had him stumbling with his words and second-guessing them. "That's not what I meant. You— you've had a lot of experience. No. Uh. Let's just say there's been plenty of men at your disposal. You can have anyone you want. Who cares if someone leaves? There's someone else who's going to adore you. Who cares what these men think about you? You're Terri Alden. Practically perfect."

"Does this mean you think _you're _perfect, too?" She was not at all impressed by his words.

"Of course!" he managed to joke. "No. But uh, you are."

"Am I?" She scoffed. "You're just trying to weasel your way out with flattery."

"Even if I am, it's still true."

She tried to remain incredulous though a part of her ego was willing to let him keep showering her with compliments.

"Just look at your job, Terri! You're a Registered Nurse. That's not easy. You have to be smart to have accomplished that. And your job is to take care of others. Compassionate as well. You're helpful, you're kind, fun, sweet…sexy…" He added the last part trying to lighten the mood.

She looked at him and met his gaze. "I—"

"See? Perfect," he said, a corner of his lips quirking slightly as he brushed a stray hair out of her face. "So, no. I don't understand why you should ever feel bad after a breakup. You probably dodged bullets."

She mirrored his smirk but then turned away and sighed heavily. "I haven't dodged bullets… I'm simply… recovering."

He raised a brow, noticing her sudden somber mood. From being angry and riled up to an abrupt calmness.

"Terri?"

"Leilani?" she called for the bartender, ignoring Larry. When the young woman arrived Terri placed an order for a shot of whiskey. She quickly downed the shot and asked for another.

"Hey, Terri. Are you alright?" Larry asked and it didn't look like she had heard him though he was right next to her. Her eyes were glazed over and it almost looked like there was only a shell of her left.

He reached out, lightly placing a hand on her back, trying to get her attention. "Terri?"

She snapped out of it and quickly downed the next shot that had been placed in front of her.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

Terri couldn't seem to get herself out of her gloomy state. She tried, but she was quickly bombarded with the bad memories of her past relationship with David. She wanted to suppress them and thought another shot would help.

"You need to stop or slow down," he advised.

She didn't care for his advice and was about to take another shot, but Larry took it out of her hand and drank it.

"Ugh, leave me alone."

"Why are you suddenly like this?"

"Because David's an asshole."

"Who's David?"

"Some jerk I was in love with," she signaled for another shot. This time she turned away from Larry and gulped it down again. "He was just plain horrible. Conceited, overbearing, oppressive. And for some reason, I didn't see it."

"Oh, sweetheart," he cooed gently.

Larry found that Terri was terrifyingly calm as she recounted the trials and tribulations of her relationship with David. Almost as if someone else was speaking and the usual fun, preppy, blonde nurse was off somewhere hundreds of miles away.

She talked about everything, not sparing him of any details. All the emotions she had gone through. How she felt so small afterward and how hard it was to come back out of her shell.

As Terri went on he could feel himself growing angry. It had first started out as curiosity, then pity. But by the end of it, he found just how angry he was on her behalf. He hated seeing her so sad. It was even more frustrating because all he could do was sit there and listen to her.

She had been rock-like, but finally, the effect of the alcohol started kicking in and she began sniggering to herself. "Oh I'd like to take this knife," she said, grabbing the steak knife from Larry's plate. "And just –," she began stabbing the air worrisomely around and near a very frightened Larry.

He quickly grabbed her knife-wielding wrist and disarmed her. "Okay… I think it's time we get you home."

"No!" She shook her head.

Larry motioned to Leilani for their bill and while trying to persuade Terri to change her mind to go home.

"I want to go to the aquarium!" Terri claimed drunkenly.

"I don't know where it is."

"I do!" Leilani interjected with a cheeky smirk.

Larry shot her an irritated look and dropped some cash for their bill. He also remembered that Terri was supposed to be treating him, but instead, he was shelling out for her and her whiskey shots.

Leilani scribbled directions onto a cocktail napkin for Larry.

"No thanks." Larry refused.

Terri, on the other hand, grabbed it happily and thanked Leilani.

Larry struggled to lead a tipsy Terri into "his" corvette, but when he did he prayed to all Gods of all religions that she wouldn't throw up in the car. He almost didn't bother driving to the aquarium but he had a feeling Terri was going to be annoying about it until he took her there.

He put the roof down and hoped the rush of air would somewhat sober Terri up. Instead, she acted a bit rowdy, putting her hands in the air and singing awfully and loudly. He was almost too embarrassed to stop at lights for he could see people staring at them. But finally, her craziness subsided as she had worn herself out.

When they finally arrived at the aquarium she looked at him a bit baffled. "We're really at the aquarium."

"Yeah. Did you not want to go?"

She shook her head and gave a half-smile. She got out of the car and found her legs to be a bit wobbly. Larry quickly got out of the car and went over and steadied her. She thanked him softly and linked her arm with his.

"You sure you wanna go?" he asked again. He had a feeling he'd be paying for their admission tickets.

"Yeah. I like it there. It's…peaceful," she explained.

Larry found himself following her throughout the aquarium as she went from exhibit to exhibit explaining some of the things she knew and sharing what she enjoyed.

He noticed she spent the most time at the jellyfish exhibit. He had to admit the jellyfish looked otherworldly as they appeared to glow as they floated about in their large habitat tanks.

They had explored the aquarium to Terri's heart's content then headed back to her place where he noticed she was once again quite somber. They were greeted by Roxy and Sergio with loud meows, probably asking for their dinner.

Terri noticed her place looked different but couldn't quite put her finger on it and at the time she couldn't care. It was because Larry had already packed up his belongings, no longer having the need to stay at her place.

Larry fed the kittens while Terri kicked off her shoes and dragged herself to her room where she curled up on her bed without even bothering to change out of her scrubs.

With a glass of water and some aspirin, he knocked on her door, voicing his concern. When she didn't answer he ducked his head in. "Hey sweetheart," he called softly.

She met his gaze with a slight frown and he felt bad for her all over again.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he inquired as he set the glass of water and medication down onto her nightstand.

She took some time thinking about it. In a small voice that almost broke him, she requested, "Just be here."

He gave a reassuring smile down at her. "Sure thing. Scoot," he said and found himself taking a seat on her bed and leaning against her headboard.

She nestled up to him and reached out for his hand. When his thumb gently rubbed up and down her hand, his warm touch felt like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.

"I thought I was over David. When that incident with Jack happened and Janet pointed it out… I didn't feel this miserable," Terri said out of the blue.

"What changed?"

She let out a sigh. "I…I think I need to start seeing a therapist again."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Thanks for pushing me to write!


	12. Third Wheel

A/N: Hello fellow quarantined citizens. Welcome back! Just wanted to give you guys a heads up: I'M A DORK. I KNOW THIS. please excuse me. Also, I think my brain has turned into mush. I'm not sure what I'm doing anymore.

* * *

**Third Wheel**

Terri slowly stirred awake, but her eyelids felt heavy and she couldn't open her eyes just yet. She thought she heard her alarm clock go off, but decided she must've been mistaken since she didn't continue hearing the unrelenting buzzing. She remained lying in bed as she tried to gather some energy, while also trying to recall what had taken place the previous evening that had made her so tired. Tired, yes but she was oh so comfortable and didn't want to get up. She slowly began to remember bits and pieces. She had been drinking which meant that at the moment she should've been feeling anything but comfort. Her head should've been pounding and also feeling like she had been hit by a truck. But no, she was just tired and didn't want to give up her comfortable rest just yet.

_Comfortable_. The word rang in her head and she wondered what made this different from other times she had been hungover. She tried to snuggle further into her warm bed. She felt soft fuzziness under the pads of her fingertips and had the urge to run her hand in a small circular motion against it.

She nuzzled her face into what she believed was an oddly firm but comfortable pillow. A familiar scent tickled her nose and she breathed in deeply and it reminded her of feeling safe and warm with a hint of annoyance. The scent triggered a memory. Larry had been there, from when she started drinking to when she collapsed into her bed. She had spilled quite a bit about her past to him and he had been there all night with her.

Then it dawned on her. It wasn't a fuzzy warm blanket that she was caressing and she wasn't snuggling into her comfortable pillow. She had fallen asleep with Larry on her bed and that's what everything was. _Larry_.

She heard a low moan and her hands stilled. Then she felt the light squeeze of his arm around her and causing her eyes to fly open as she shot up in bed, yanking her hand away feeling like she had been caught doing something completely indecent.

"_Ugh! My chest!_" Larry shrieked sitting up in bed as well.

"Shhh!" Terri begged while a sleeping kitten on her bed mewled in protest at the commotion.

"_You ripped out my chest hair!_" he hissed out as he rubbed his chest trying to soothe the pain.

"_Why on earth would I do that?" _she hissed back matching his tone.

"Beats me!"

Terri rolled her eyes at his over the top exaggeration and brought her hand up to push back her stray hairs about her face when she noticed her wristwatch had indeed snagged several of his chest hairs.

"Ew. Gross," she muttered under her breath.

"See!" He cried pointing at the evidence. "Next time you want to grope me, please no wrist accessories."

"Oh shut up. I've gone through a lot worse waxing and made less commotion. This wouldn't have happened if you'd just buttoned up. It's no longer the seventies, Larry."

He made a face at her then it softened to that of concern when he heard her take a deep sigh.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing pretty well considering," she answered with a shrug. "The water and medication helped," she added with a soft, grateful smile.

"That's good."

Silence fell over them briefly until her phone rang.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Oh, around seven-fifteen."

"My alarm didn't go off?"

"I turned it off. Thought you'd want to stay home and recover."

"Thanks but I'm good," she replied while her phone continued to ring. "Who would be calling at this hour?" she wondered aloud as she got out of bed and shuffled out to go answer her phone.

She answered the phone, annoyed at whoever was calling at such an early hour. "Hello? Who's this?" she spat.

"_Good morning. Uh, it's me. Honi."_

Upon hearing the answer from the other end, Terri's groggy state was replaced with alertness. "Honi! Uh good morning!" she chuckled. "Such a lovely surprise to hear from you this morning."

Larry was suddenly interested in the conversation and came out of her room.

"_I saw your car was still in the parking lot when I left yesterday."_

"Oh yeah, uh my friend, Larry, he drove me home."

"_I thought that might be it. But I was still worried last night. I couldn't sleep and even thought about calling but— I didn't want to wake you up. I just had to call this morning and make sure. I couldn't stand not knowing for certain."_

"Oh! That's very sweet of you. I'm so sorry you didn't get much sleep on my account."

"_I'm just glad to know you're safe."_

Terri giggled like a schoolgirl. "I'm touched."

Larry didn't know what was taking place in her conversation since he couldn't hear what the guy on the other side of the phone line was saying, but that didn't stop him from rolling his eyes and mocking her behind her back as he moved onto the kitchen to prepare some breakfast. The guy bugged him to no end and Larry couldn't even find a reason. He didn't even know him. It was probably that goody-two-shoes personality that bothered him so much. He liked people with a little more spunk, some joie de vivre, and he assumed that's what Terri liked as well and couldn't figure out what she saw in that chump. Not that he knew what that guy was like from the two whole minutes that he had spent with him.

Terri was soon dressed and made up, having breakfast that Larry had made for her. She had placed the kittens on the table and took to playing with them, keeping her mind distracted. She needed the distraction. She felt like something between herself and Larry had shifted and with what had happened last night… oh, she didn't want to think about it anymore. Her mind kept wandering and twisting meanings when things were plain and simple. Larry merely stayed by her side and they fell asleep on her bed. Nothing else.

Aside from all of that, something in the pit of her stomach told her emptiness lurked just around the corner.

"Ready to go?" Larry asked from across the table where he was also working on his breakfast.

She looked up at him confused. "Oh. You don't need to take me to work."

"How do you plan on getting there?"

"Honi's picking me up. He saw my car in the parking lot last night and well, he called this morning offering to give me a ride to work."

"Oh…" Larry knew he sounded disappointed when she cocked a brow at him. "Oh! Good! Less work for me," he said with a more chipper tone.

She rolled her eyes as she got up to put her dishes in the sink. "I'm going to go wait for him outside," she informed him as she left the kitchen and went to go grab her belongings.

When she finally crossed her living room she noticed it was emptier.

"Did you clean up here?" she asked.

"Packed my stuff up. I guessed since all my stuff is set up back at my place and my phone is getting hooked up today, I don't need to stay here any longer."

For some reason, the news came as a shock. It wasn't like she had forgotten he was leaving once everything at his place was set up but more than anything, what shocked her the most was that she had grown accustomed to his presence in a mere week.

She pushed the thought back and beamed at him. "Finally!"

"Gee you don't have to sound too happy."

"It'll be nice to get my living room back. Not having to share a bathroom or putting up with you." As the words left her mouth she felt they were a bit harsh, after all, he had put up with her craziness the evening before. "But I'll um, miss you making breakfast for me."

"That's all I'm good for, huh?"

She flashed him a cheeky grin but then felt the need to say something nice before he left, "Uh, thank you…for being there for me last night."

…

After a busy day at work, Terri wanted nothing more than to go home and relax. However, knowing that her couch crasher would no longer be there to bother her kind of bummed her out a little. She remembered little Sergio would be at home waiting for her. With Larry and Roxy gone, he was probably lonely. She quickly got into her apartment, switched on the lights, and called for Sergio. He didn't come to greet her and not a peep was heard. Perhaps the little kitten had already fallen asleep. And so Terri went in search of him. When she couldn't find him in his usual hiding spots, she began to panic a bit. Her stomach wrenched at the thought that somehow Sergio had gotten out. Her frantic search began as she looked through every room and under every piece of furniture.

Her phone rang and she didn't bother picking it up. What kind of person would be phoning her that late anyhow? She continued her search, and the stupid phone continued to ring, easily getting on her nerves. With no trace of Sergio and the phone off the hook, she decided to answer ready to give the person a piece of her mind.

"Hello!" she barked into the receiver angrily. "I don't know who you are but-"

"Hey, you're home. What a way to answer your phone." She heard Larry say from the other line.

"Larry! Hi, look-"

"I got my phone hooked up and decided you'd be the first person I'd call. Well my Ma, then you."

"Larry I lost Sergio!" she blurted out.

"What?"

"I got home and he didn't come to greet me! And I've been calling him-"

"Ter-"

"And I've searched my entire apartment."

"Terri!" He yelled into the phone trying to get her attention. "Sergio's with me."

"_What!?_"

"I said he's with me."

"Yes, I heard you. But _why_? And _why_ didn't you leave a note or something?" She was getting quite exasperated.

"I did leave a note! It's on the coffee table."

She looked over, and just like he said, it was sitting right there sitting on the coffee table. "Well, why'd you take him?"

"What? No apology?"

"Why did you take my Sergio!?" she demanded to know.

"I didn't want to leave him all alone. First day without his sister and he's all by himself. Poor thing."

"Oh."

"Sergio and Roxy miss you," he told her.

"Awww I miss them too. Give them a kiss for me."

"Do I get one?"

"Sure why not. While you're at it, go downstairs and kiss Mr. Zimmer for me as well," she joked.

"I believe that requires a bit of a personal touch. Anyways I thought I'd give you my number."

"Ah ok."

"The first woman to get my number, such a privilege."

"I'm so honored to be one of the thousands of women who gets your number," she replied sarcastically as she wedged the receiver between her ear and shoulder and readied herself with a pen and paper. "Ok. Ready."

He gave her his number and then asked, "So when are you picking up Sergio?"

"_I _have to pick him up? You took him without my permission! You should be dropping him off."

"Ugh fine I'll stop by."

"So tomorrow— oh wait!" Terri smacked her forehead with the base of her palm recalling her plans for Saturday. "I have a date tomorrow around noon. Can you please come early?"

Larry grumbled from the other side. "Fine," he sighed. "I'll be there around ten."

"Thank you."

It remained quiet on both ends, neither wanting to hang up just yet.

She sighed and began to say her good-byes. "Good-ni—"

"Hey I forgot to tell you," he said suddenly and that sparked a little bit of joy for Terri, pleased that their conversation didn't have to end. "I'm headed to the docks later tomorrow to receive a shipment. Anyways— thinking about upgrading my car."

"_Larry_." The way she said his name, he knew he was about to be lectured and sighed as he let her continue. "You shouldn't be doing that. What if something happens to the car? You're not going to get insurance for it and might end up having to buy it yourself."

"I'm a cautious driver," he insisted though it sounded just as flippant.

"That is until you get some pretty girl in the passenger seat and get too busy looking at her to pay any attention to the road," she continued to chide, not caring for his unconcerned attitude about the whole thing.

"Did I wreck your car when I drove you to and from work?" He posed the question sounding like he was a lawyer on the courtroom floor.

"No, but-"

"Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe you're just not that pretty."

Terri's mouth gaped open as his insult landed. "I oughta smack you."

"Good thing we're on the phone."

She could hear the cheeky smile in his voice over the phone and wanted nothing more than to be able to wipe it off… with her fist.

"You're lucky."

"Yeah, yeah. So what's new?" he continued.

Terri let his comment slide as she happily filled him in on her day.

…

The next morning Larry rapped on Terri's door, his signature _Shave and a Haircut_ knock giving him away. He waited with a cat carrier in one hand and a greasy paper bag in another.

The door opened and immediately Larry was assaulted with a swift slap to his arm.

It didn't hurt much, but his face twisted and his mouth opened into a pained expression mixed with shock.

"Is this how you're greeting people now?" he screeched at Terri who was scowling at him, though he could see her lips were eager to tug into a smile.

"That's for calling me ugly last night."

It amused him. "Oh ho ho! Who knew Nurse Alden's ego bruised so easily?" He held the cat carrier up to her and saw her mock scowl disappear and her face lit up as she took it from him. She was definitely not ugly he thought to himself silently. "I don't think I said you were ugly. I believe I said you aren't as pretty."

The scowl reappeared on her face as she glared at him for the clarification on slight semantics. Her attention shifted back to the carrier in her care and she cooed softly, "Good morning Sergio. Oh and… Roxy!?" She was rewarded with soft meows from the kittens. She took a seat on her couch and made quick work to set them free.

"Yeah I thought she could tag along," he explained. "I also brought breakfast," he held up the brown paper bag while entering her place and shutting the door behind him.

"Thanks! But I already had a little something," she declined but proceeded to sniff the air.

"Call it an olive branch for calling you ugly." Larry saw her roll her eyes at his comment. "You sure? It's a ham and egg sandwich on sourdough."

"Well, since you already brought it. Why not?" She said while leading the way to her kitchen, cradling a mewling Sergio against her. "Coffee?" she offered.

"Sure," he said following her into the kitchen where he unpacked their breakfast onto the table.

Sometime during breakfast, Larry remembered he had something else for Terri. "I almost forgot! I have another thing for you."

She eyed him curiously watching him get up and dig into his pocket.

"Your apartment key," he informed her as he pulled it out and dangled it before handing it over to her.

She accepted it then looked at Larry slightly confused. "There are two keys."

"Oh yeah. One of them is a copy for my place," he explained but saw that she still looked confused. "I figured you're the only one I know here and I don't think dear old Stu would ever have any concern for me until rent is due. So you know just in case of emergencies; if you think I'm dead or something."

Terri laughed and nodded, understanding his reasoning behind it.

"Also I might need you to drop in and take care of Roxy if I'm ever preoccupied… being… _entertained_." He waggled his brows.

Terri rolled her eyes at the fact that he _had_ to mention something that alluded to his Casanova lifestyle. Pathetic, really. She then began to unhook a key then held it out to him. "Here. So you can return the favor and feed Sergio when _I'm_ being _entertained_."

It was at the tip of his tongue, to suggest that it would be easier just to entertain each other and not have to worry about the well-being of their cats, but he decided against it. He had heard her loud and clear the other night. While she had curled up in bed, so withdrawn and all he could do was sit there like a lump next to her. He had the opportunity not only to reflect and take everything she said into account but was also able to do some self-reflecting. That night it finally dawned on him that she would have to be a little discerning about who she let close after what she had been through. Even he could understand why she would be wary of him. She had every right to be. He wasn't exactly known to be a standup guy.

Perhaps he should make amends…

He met her smirk with a gracious nod. "It would be my pleasure to serve the little prince, your highness," he said, taking on an English Butler's accent.

She rolled her eyes playfully just as her phone rang. She got up and left to go answer her phone. Her greeting, an ever so sweet, "hello". She gave a pause for the other person to answer and cracked into a full smile as she delightfully crooned into the phone, "Janet! How are you, sweetie?"

Upon hearing Terri say 'Janet' Larry practically ran over to her side; a somewhat bewildered Sergio and Roxy in his hands accompanying him.

"Is that Janet?" he asked immediately.

The nurse nodded as she made herself comfortable on the sofa while listening to her best friend answer her question.

Larry took a seat next to her and leaned in so that he was closer to the receiver. "Hi, Janet! Is Jack there? Can I talk to him?"

Terri pushed his face away with her free hand trying to shut him up as she continued talking to Janet and nodding along.

"Yup, that was Larry," she said into the phone. She went on to explain (or complain depending on one's perspective) how Larry had been mooching off of her since he moved to Hawaii because his place hadn't exactly been move-in ready.

Larry gave her a kitten to hold which she cuddled as she continued her exchange with Janet. He attempted to take the phone out of her hand, his futile attempt at trying to get her to stop smearing his good name. He tried the old switch-a-roo; exchanging the other kitten for the phone in her hand, but that didn't fly as she leaned away and stared daggers at him.

"How's Jack?!" He shouted so that Janet could hear him as he leaned closer, only earning himself an elbow to the chest.

"I'm great!" Terri replied to Janet.

"T- tell Janet I said hi to Jack."

Terri rolled her eyes and continued her conversation with Janet, and Larry tried to wait patiently… for about ten seconds. He reached over and once again attempted to grab the phone from her. A mistake he regretted instantly. He promptly received a smack to his hand causing him to hiss in pain while shaking it out. He sulked beside her and listened to her gab with Janet. He simply wanted to talk to Jack! He wanted to talk with his best friend too!

He folded his arms and pouted like a child, then decided he couldn't take it anymore. "Terri!" He wailed loudly all the while turning his body so that he was able to bury his face in the crook of his arm which rested on the back of the couch. "You're being so _unfair_!" he sobbed dramatically into his arm. "_I just want to say hi to Jack_!"

"Jesus Larry! Sorry, Janet. Please continue. What did you want to ask me?" Terri was anticipating the question to come, excitedly. She wasn't sure if she would get the privilege, but could only hope. "Yes! Of course, I will! Of course, I'll be your maid of honor!"

She was squealing from all the excitement causing Larry to grimace at the noise. Finally, she settled down. "Oh hi, Jack! How are you?"

"Jack!?" Larry perked up. "Is that Jack?"

Terri covered the receiver with her hand and turned towards Larry. "No," she replied, obviously lying. "Yeah, I'm great! Congrats on setting the date!" she said turning her attention back to Jack on the other end. "I hope to be getting my invitation soon! Yeah, he's here. He's just _dying_ to talk to you."

He finally got his turn when Terri unceremoniously held the phone out to him. "Jack-O! How's it going, pal?" He chuckled and listened to his friend's reply. "That's good. I'm doing great. How's the future Mrs. Tripper treating you? Working you hard huh?" he earned a slap from Terri causing him to yelp a bit. "Oh that was Terri," he answered when Jack asked what the commotion was about. "Yeah, she hit me. She's… a…she's feisty."

"So look, buddy, pal. Terri is going to be the maid of honor. And I know, I know you have a brother, but Janet has a sister too, and—,"

Terri scoffed while listening to Larry try to make a case for why he should be the best man. There was nothing "best" about him. Perhaps maybe he was the "best" at getting Jack in trouble, god knows he had done that plenty of times.

She heard Larry screech. "Yes! I'll be your best man! You won't regret it, pal! Don't worry a thing about the bachelor party. I'll have everything under control!"

Terri pursed her lips and side-eyed him with a look that said she wasn't surprised at all that all he cared about was the bachelor party.

"Look, pal, I'm going to go all in! I'm gonna get you all the hot, slutty- _ow!_" he scowled at Terri and she simply matched it with her own. "Yeah, she hit me again," he told Jack.

Terri heard laughter from the other side and smirked while returning her attention to petting Sergio.

"Look, buddy, I expect the same treatment from you when I get married."

Terri picked up Sergio and held him up so that they were face to face. "All he wants is an excuse to have a bachelor party; not actually get married," she explained to the kitten.

Larry continued to shoot the breeze with Jack while Terri sat there and judged him for things he said. "Here, Janet wants to talk to you," he said, giving the phone back once he was done catching up.

Terri happily took the phone back and continued to exchange squeals and ideas with the bride to be.

"Janet, I have another call, I'll talk to you later ok? Ok, buh-bye now."

"Tell Jack I said bye!" Larry shouted.

As she switched between callers, it occurred to her with all the wedding excitement it had slipped her mind to get ready for her date.

"Hello," she sang sweetly expecting her date to be calling. Then her voice dropped with disappointment. "You wanna speak to Larry?" Her face twisted with annoyance and she handed the phone over to him. "Why is your boss calling my place to talk to you?"

"I haven't given him my number yet," he explained, taking the phone.

She got up and left the kittens with Larry as she went ahead and got ready for her date.

About forty-five minutes later Terri was practically ready. Dressed in a flowery summer dress, her hair up in a half-do, and long dangly earring that accentuated her long dainty neck, _but_ she still hadn't gotten rid of Larry. He was still on the phone with his boss.

She didn't need to get rid of him, her date wouldn't be taking place in her apartment but it was preferable that Larry wasn't hanging around. Also, she remembered the way Larry had acted the other day when he met Honi for the first time. Why he took care to be extra obnoxious at that moment was beyond her. But she guessed that was in his nature, to be obnoxious.

With her elbows bent and palms up, she shook them, wordlessly asking Larry why his call hadn't ended yet.

He could only grimace apologetically and shrug at her as he tried to finish up his call. "Ok, there," he said to her after finally hanging up.

"Ok, good. Now, let's get you out of here," she said tugging on his hand trying to lead him out.

"I need to get Roxy! Also, what's the rush?" He said, pulling his hand away.

"In case you forgot, I have a date."

"So?"

"I rather you not be here."

"Ooooh gonna get right to business huh?" he winked at her jokingly.

"No! But, but—" she stomped her foot in frustration just as a knock sounded from her door. "Oh! He's here!" Terri chirped, sounding somewhat panicked.

She attempted to wave Larry away but instead, he stood his ground and he looked at her unfazed. He asked flatly, "What do you want me to do? Hide?"

"Yes! Good idea! Hide."

"No!"

The knock grew louder and Terri knew there was nothing she could do about her guest. "Behave!" she chided Larry. Then an idea popped into her head, she grabbed her purse and opened the door just enough to be able to slip herself out. Once outside she found herself awkwardly sandwiched between her date and the door as she tried to pull it shut behind her. However, Larry on the other side kept trying to open it and she kept getting clumsily yanked back. She smiled brightly and chuckled loudly trying to detract from the chaos at hand. "Hi, Honi! You're here! Great! Let's go!" She spoke quickly and tried to lead him away deciding to give up on getting the door shut.

"Wait, wait. I got you these flowers," Honi said pushing the bouquet of yellow tulips against her since they were practically toe-toe.

"Oh, thanks! They're lovely!" she said, taking a whiff. "Let's go!"

"Hey Terri?" she heard Larry say causing her to pale noticeably and let out an exasperated sigh. "Shouldn't you put those flowers in water before you rush off?" He pulled the door open wider allowing himself to come into view of Honi's. "Hello," he drawled out, sounding like a much too eager Bond Villain.

Terri sighed once again, "I believe you've met Larry before?"

"Ah yes. Nice meeting you again, Larry." He said, extending a hand.

Larry, in turn, gave a weird sideways high-five of a slap. "Aloha, Bruddah."

His greeting made Terri instantly regret not having killed Larry the day she set eyes on him. She buried her face into her hand and shook her head.

Honi looked at his hand somewhat confused then to Terri for some answers and all she was able to do was flash a remorseful smile.

"Well, come on in before the kittens get out!" Larry told them.

"Have a seat, Honi," Terri said flatly while walking back into her apartment. "I'll just set these in water and we'll be on our way." She glared at Larry as to warn him not to cause any trouble as she left for the kitchen.

Larry took a seat on the other side of the couch and turned towards Honi. "Where are you two going?"

"Just to a park. There's a book fair."

"Oh, a book fair! You didn't tell me that. I thought it was just a picnic." Terri said as she reappeared with her flowers now in a vase. "There," she said, placing them onto her coffee table. "They really liven up the place. Okie dokie, let's go!" She was already zipping her way to the door.

"Yellow flowers," Larry said thoughtfully. "I think they mean friendship."

"To be honest, I'm not sure what they mean," Honi admitted. "I went to the flower shop and I picked them because they reminded me of Terri."

"Yellow 'cus she's blonde?"

"No. Reminds me of the sun."

"She's gassy?"

"_Larry!_" she barked at him.

Honi stood up and smiled softly at her. "Whenever Terri's around me," he began as he slowly walked over to her, "she always manages to brighten my world."

Her blue eyes locked with Honi's own deep warm brown, and she looked absolutely taken by his words as she stood there blushing with a silly smile settled upon her lips.

Larry jumped up from where he sat and cleared his throat. "So you two are going to a book fair?"

"Hmm? Oh yes," Honi finally answered after he broke out of his trance-like state from staring at the blonde. "It's set up at a park so we can have a nice stroll while browsing books. Do you like to read, Larry?" Honi asked politely.

"I sure do!" Larry lied overflowing with faux enthusiasm.

Terri saw right through him and with fake enthusiasm and interest of her own she asked, "Oh really? Like what? What do you like to read? Who's your favorite author?"

Larry wracked his brain for anything he could've said, but it felt like he hadn't picked up a book since he finished high school. Hell, he barely picked up a book in high school. He knew mentioning someone like Dickens would spark too many follow up questions. "Oh, you know one of those obscure artsy stuff. They're not very well known."

"Huh I always assumed Playboy received quite the notoriety," Terri quipped, cocking her head to the side.

"Well Terri," Larry began. "Have _you_ read anything lately?"

"Uhh, not very recently." She then shifted her attention to her date. "You know a nurse's schedule. Busy, busy, busy. I used to read more when I lived in Santa Monica. My roommate read frequently and I sometimes read one of her finished novels. Occasionally I'll pick up a book here and there."

Honi nodded, satisfied with her explanation.

But Larry, on the other hand, couldn't help but mention, "Like the sleazy romance novel on your nightstand?"

Caught off guard by the remark Terri's jaw dropped open as she tried to counter, but words refused to form, her brain stalled from embarrassment.

"It doesn't matter which genre one reads," Honi piped up. "As long as you find yourself enjoying it. I also find that it really doesn't matter which material one consumes, there's always something to learn from it."

Larry tried to mirror his smile but it came off looking more like a sneer. "You know," he began thoughtfully, a finger poised on his chin. "I haven't seen or done much since I've gotten here. Terri has turned me into a kept man."

"_Excuse me?_" Terri screeched.

"I'm only joking. I'm more like a housewife."

"Larry!"

"I should go to this book fair."

"Great. Go."

"You definitely should," Honi interjected. "Books provide such a plethora of knowledge. It would be advantageous of you to attend and expand your knowledge." His words were simple but Larry couldn't help but take them personally, wondering if the guy was calling him stupid. "Perhaps pick up a few books about Hawaii so you can have a fun time exploring our islands… _on your own_."

"It's not as much fun doing things by yourself," Larry said thoughtfully. "Yeah let's all go to the book fair together!"

"_What?_" Terri cried then said. "Haven't you heard? Three's a crowd."

"Sounds like a bad TV show," Larry mumbled. "I don't know how to get there anyway. So shall we take one car?" He asked, inviting himself on to their date.

"We?!" Terri cried. "There's no _we_. Don't you have to be at the docks?"

"My boss said it's arriving tomorrow," Larry informed the outraged blonde then turned his attention to Honi. "My car is a corvette. It's not very spacious," he said sounding apologetic but it was obvious he was trying to brag. "What do you drive?" he asked smugly.

Terri got between the two men and waved her hand in front of Larry capturing his attention. "There's us," Terri said as she pointed between her and Honi then gestured at Larry, "and there's you. There is no we."

"Oh c'mon Terri. I haven't been anywhere. Plus, _it would be_ _advantageous for me to attend and expand my knowledge_," he said derisively.

"I'll take you tomorrow!" Terri tried to negotiate.

Honi cleared his throat and gently placed a hand on Terri's shoulder, gaining her attention. "Why make two trips? We can all go together."

"You don't have to. Larry's just being –"

"It's fine and my car can accommodate all of us comfortably."

"Oh…okay…" she agreed tentatively.

"So then…everything's settled?" her date asked.

Terri nodded hesitantly. She didn't want Larry to be some sort of burden on Honi. Lucky for her, her date was sweet, understanding, and obliging, unlike a certain inconsiderate, smarmy, numbskull rudely imposing himself onto her date. She would've given him a piece of her mind, but with Honi there she wanted to display her demure side.

"It's your lucky day," she said to Larry through the gritted teeth of a forced smile.

Larry flashed her a cheeky smile. "Great! Let's get going!

"Thank you," Terri said to Honi softly once Larry was out of the apartment.

"Not a problem. I'm glad to help," he assured her, but there was a nervous energy about him. She could see that he wanted to say something but was being hesitant about it.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

"You can tell me."

"Did you two have a history back in LA?"

"Me and Larry?" She asked, surprised he would even ask. When he nodded she threw her head back and laughed. "What would even give you that idea?"

"The way he's been acting towards me… and with you— he seems… jealous."

"_Jealous?_" she repeated, once again thrown by Honi's assumption. There was nothing Larry could have been jealous about. She fleetingly wondered if it was his male ego. She hadn't exactly been kind when bragging about Honi all the while offhandedly telling Larry that he was useless. But that wasn't really Larry's style, to care deeply about comparisons; he easily admitted to his shortcomings and played them off like it was part of his charm. _Some charm_.

Terri shook her head. "No. He just likes to be annoying. He was always causing trouble for others back in Santa Monica. I guess he hasn't caused much of a commotion lately and decided to embarrass me."

"So I don't have anything to worry about?"

"Larry?! Not at all! He's a playboy. You'll see at the park. He'll find more than a few women to his liking there and he'll be annoyingly flirty. It's hard to watch. Really."

…

Of course, the date was a bust! Terri couldn't believe it had only been a couple of hours since they had left her place and she was already home.

There had already been conflict before they all hopped into Honi's Oldsmobile, Larry trying to sit upfront in the passenger seat. She had to practically shove him into the back where he thankfully, and much to Terri's surprise, he remained quiet for the remainder of the ride. She assumed he was in the back sulking, but the most important thing was he was keeping his yap shut and she was able to freely chat with her date. As freely as one could with a third wheel.

At the park, Terri had hoped Larry would keep to himself like he had in the car but she was sorely disappointed. She couldn't find a way to display her utmost charming self without Larry butting in. She would walk at a slow, leisurely pace, hand in hand with her date, and Larry would turn around and tell them to hurry along. Where was the guy always too eager to set his best friend up on a hot date? He always did it for Jack.

Everything really started to fall apart when they visited a booth selling books on reptiles and it had happened to have a nice large, yellow boa constrictor called Roberta. The caretaker of the snake was a bubbly woman who had introduced herself to them as Sheila. She donned an ensemble of a khaki work-shirt and shorts with a safari hat to boot. She played her role enthusiastically as someone who would have easily been scouring the Amazon Rainforest.

Terri was definitely curious about interacting with the large snake, however, she found herself hesitant about petting it.

"This is silly, but I'm afraid to pet the snake," she admitted with a small giggle.

"That's not silly at all. It's human nature to be wary of snakes," Honi affirmed.

Larry took the opportunity to show off his courage of which he had none. He put on an air of confidence by squaring his shoulders and holding his head high. He then stated how it would be fun to have the boa constrictor drape around his neck like a scarf. But when Sheila took the snake and walked towards him, telling him that was indeed a possibility, Larry bulked. Quickly and cowardly, Larry volunteered for Honi to "go first" as if he was being ever so considerate.

Suddenly put on the spot and nervous about the whole ordeal, Honi still managed to gracefully accept. With a shaky nod of his head a flash of a tense smile at Terri, he took a breath and allowed Sheila to place the large, slithering reptile onto him.

Sheila instructed him to stay calm and not to be worried. She prattled off about the boa constrictor, reminding everyone that there wasn't much to fear since Roberta here wasn't the venomous kind of snake.

"This isn't so bad," Honi commented gently stroking the snake. "Terri would you like to see?" he asked while offering his hand to her. She shook her head but he calmly insisted he was right there and wouldn't let harm come her way. She took his hand and stepped forward and he placed her hand gently on the warm scaly skin of the snake. "See? Nothing to be afraid of."

"Oh let me try!" Larry butted in, practically pushing Terri aside.

"Be careful," Sheila warned. "Even though they're not venomous, their bite can be painful."

"They bite?!" Larry exclaimed with concern.

The boa constrictor decided at that time to branch out, it's head poised up as it tried to slither on over to Larry. As it came towards him, the brief moment of courage he had quickly dissipated and was replaced by sudden panic and fear. Terrified, he slapped poor Roberta away with a loud yelp. He jumped back and dramatically turned away clutching his heart. All attention went to him, both Sheila and Terri rushed over worrying if he had been hurt.

Nobody had thought to check Honi, where a frightened Roberta had begun to coil herself around Honi's throat. He could barely utter his cries for help, with his throat being crushed. He didn't know how to remove the snake either and was quickly losing air.

"I think I'm alright," Larry claimed as the two women fussed over him.

When they all finally turned back around and they saw Honi getting asphyxiated. Another wave of panic washed over them. Sheila quickly ran over and had to pry and coax the boa constrictor away. Terri was instantly by her date's side holding him up. Sheila finally managed to get Roberta back freeing Honi.

He gasped loudly and coughed as the rush of air suddenly went into his lungs. He could barely stand, nearly all of his weight was being supported by Terri.

"Larry! Come help." Terri demanded.

"Right!" he said making his way over.

The two walked Honi over to a nearby bench and let settle and catch his breath. Terri took a seat next to him rubbing soothing circles on his back while he hunched over still weak from being nearly choked to death.

"Just breathe. Slowly," she advised. "In…." she took a deep breath with him, "out…" she slowly exhaled. She repeated the mantra for him keeping things as calm as possible.

Sheila arrived with a bottle of water apologizing profusely and practically on her knees begging for forgiveness. Everyone was quite understanding and sent her back to attend to her booth.

Larry had taken the water bottle and unscrewed the cap, about to take a swig from it.

"Larry! Give that to Honi," Terri shouted. "Honestly, what is wrong with you?"

He gave a rueful chuckle and handed the bottle over to her.

"Here, sweetie, take a sip," she said helping him drink. Honi was finally regaining his composure and sat up straight. "Good," she gave a gentle commend. "Just breathe normally, take in your surroundings slowly."

"Terri," Honi finally said. "If you don't mind, I have a cooler in the backseat with our lunch in it. Could you possibly go get it?" he asked, handing her his car keys.

"Oh sure thing! You just wait here and rest."

Larry stood looking around and whistling as he took in the view.

"So what are you doing here?" Honi asked after a while.

Larry's attention had been captured by a couple of ladies sitting at the edge of a pond just beyond some booths across from them. He hadn't quite heard what Honi had asked him. "Hmm?" he hummed, turning towards the man sitting on the bench.

"Why are you tagging along?"

"Sounded fun," Larry answered with a shrug.

"Do you like Terri?"

The question was blunt and unexpected, especially since it came from some guy he barely knew. "Of course I like Terri," he answered just as bluntly. "What's not to like?" He clicked his tongue and winked.

Honi cocked a brow. He didn't find the way Larry had answered him something to be taken seriously. Larry was much too casual and Honi felt that his admittance was addressed like it was just a passing feeling. Either way it didn't matter. "I believe it would be better if you stopped pestering us— her. Terri clearly doesn't feel the same way about you. And this little act, whatever this is… all you're doing right now is upsetting her."

For some reason Honi's words affected him, which Larry hadn't anticipated. It wouldn't be the first time someone told him a chick wasn't interested in him, and it never once unnerved him. But this time a gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach appeared and even he couldn't shake it.

Like a nervous, troubled child getting questioned by an authority figure, Larry shoved his hands deep into his pockets, looked at Honi, puffed his cheeks, tipped his head to the side and shrugged.

"She might end up despising you if you don't stop your nonsense."

Honi's advice sounded more like a threat to Larry, putting him on edge.

Larry slowly let out the breath he was holding, his cheeks deflating in the process. He buried his negative feelings deep down, deciding he didn't want to open that can of worms and see what it was all about. He quickly donned a wide smile when he saw Terri approach, only to drop that smile as quickly as it had appeared. He saw the cooler she gently swung back and forth and regretted the decision he had made about two hours ago.

Terri settled onto the bench, placing the cooler between herself and her date.

Honi took to opening it while Larry tried to slowly back away without drawing attention himself.

"Uhh, it's nearly empty…" Honi trailed off somewhat confused.

"STOP!" Larry heard Terri yell and he stiffened immediately and weakly smiled at her. "Explain."

"I was feeling … peckish."

"_PECKISH_!?" Terri shrieked and jumped up to her feet. She finally understood why he had been so quiet in the car. He had been preoccupied scarfing down their lunch. Her fist balled at her side, she saw red and started storming towards Larry.

Most people, when in a bind have two modes: fight or flight. Larry only had one: flight. He sprinted off not having a plan other than to temporarily delay becoming a victim of Terri Alden's wrath. He did his best to keep away, weaving between trees and other patrons, only to get himself cornered at the edge of the pond.

He held his hands up, quickly surrendering hoping she'd be merciful. "I give up!"

She smirked seeing the small body of water behind him stalked slowly towards him like a lioness about to pounce on a defenseless antelope.

"Te- Terri—," he stuttered nervously glancing behind him. "You wouldn't."

Her bright blue eyes narrowed at him deviously and paired with her menacing smile, Larry was struck with fear as she closed in on him. She stopped, tipped her head, and a finger thoughtfully tapped her chin as if weighing her options. Larry hoped one of those options was kindness. Kind enough to let him off the hook.

"Your wallet," she finally said holding out her hand.

"What?"

"Give me your wallet. You're going to reimburse Honi for the food you ate."

His hands dropped and he dug into his back pocket for his wallet feeling like he was being held up by a robber. He begrudgingly handed it over but ever so relieved he wasn't sopping wet. And as the thought passed his mind he felt Terri's hand on his chest, and suddenly found himself falling backwards into the pond. No amount of his arms flailing wildly about stopped him from hitting the water.

Terri smirked as she went through his wallet but stopped when she noticed he was thrashing in the water. She then heard his panicked cries for help claiming he didn't know how to swim (she had forgotten that little fact).

"Larry! Just stand up!" she shouted to him walking over to the edge of the pond.

He was still panicking and wouldn't listen. She rolled her eyes and leaned forward to yank him out.

But oh how the tables turn quickly. She felt Larry grab her hand, and instead of her pulling him out, he pulled her into the pond with him. She splashed into the water profanity leaving her mouth in the process. After the initial shock, she was able to get herself into an upright position; the water had merely come up mid-thigh and didn't pose a problem. When she finally composed herself she turned to Larry who stood there, drenched head to toe, laughing his head off at her, the panic he once displayed nowhere in sight.

"Larry!" she yelled with frustration, but he wouldn't stop laughing. Terri scooped up some water and tossed it at him.

The sudden splash of water on his face sobered him. He stood there and blinked at Terri. She tried to look angry with him, but he noticed she bit her lower lip to keep from cracking into a wide grin though she couldn't very well hide the mirth in her eyes.

In turn, he smirked and bent down to cup some water into his hand but felt another splash on his face. He looked at her, mouth agape, while she feigned innocence looking up at the sky. He let the water fall away and instead started after her. Terri squealed excitedly and tried to bolt, but the water had her awkwardly wading towards the shore.

Somehow Larry was quicker and she didn't quite make it back onto land. He had caught up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist trying to stop her from getting out of the pond. He lifted her and spun her away, the air freely rushing about her had made her giddy and she was giggling when he set her down a little further away from her desired destination.

He tried to leave before her.

"Oh no you don't!" she said through laughter and caught hold of his shirt tugging him back.

"_Ahem_."

They heard someone clearing their throat causing both to stop their childish antics and looked up. Honi stood at the edge of the pond holding onto their belongings while staring down at them with a raised critical brow making the two adults in the water feel absolutely foolish.

Terri quickly dropped her hand and chuckled nervously as she looked up at her date. She pushed past Larry and waded towards her date, she was quickly turning red from embarrassment and a tad bit of shame.

"Hi," she greeted softly once she was within close proximity.

"The two of you disappeared for a while."

"Sorry," she grimaced, "As you can see, we fell in the water." She gestured around her. "Can you help me out?" she asked, extending her hand up to him. She couldn't tell what he was feeling or thinking, his face unreadable and remained stoic as he pulled her up. Not even an exasperated sigh nor a simple utterance of forgiveness.

"_FELL?_" Larry cried appalled as he trudged up to them. "She pushed me," he tattled on her as he also stuck out his hand asking to have help getting out as well.

Terri, already out of the water and wringing out her dress, glowered at him and slapped his hand away. "Your wallet is floating over there," she nodded towards it.

He grumbled and went to retrieve his wallet before having to climb out of the pond clumsily since Terri and Honi had left him.

Terri linked arms with her date and murmured another apology.

He neither accepted nor rejected her apology, making the guilt she felt rise with hotness in her face. Silence fell over them as they walked away from Larry who was trying to wring out as much water from his clothes as he possibly could.

"You two took so long, I was able to peruse some of the booths." Terri listened quietly and nodded along. "I bought you a book," he said, handing over a bag to her without as much as a glance.

She accepted it and peered inside but didn't take it out. "Thank you. I'll definitely give it a read."

Honi spoke up once again neither accepting or rejecting her thanks. "Since there's no lunch and you two are all wet, I believe it's best if I take the two of you home."

She gave a disappointed "oh" but nodded understandingly.

And just like that their so-called date came to an end. They were soon driven back to her place, where the ride over was filled with tension and silence. The only time they spoke was before she got out of the car where she quickly apologized, said thank yous, and exchanged good-byes.

The discomfort she had been feeling was replaced by irritation. She wordlessly entered her apartment, without so much of a glance of acknowledgment towards Larry. She stormed in rifled through her linen closet and brought back a towel which she angrily chucked at Larry.

Honi's words rang in Larry's head as he dried himself off standing in her living room while she went into her room to change out of her wet clothes. He had warned him Terri would hate him and it was already happening.

"Don't," Terri spat when she came back out dressed in something more casual and most importantly, dry.

All he had done was turn his head her way.

"Don't even breathe."

He tried to make his breathing less obvious.

"I don't want to hear your excuses or apologies. Not a peep out of you," she said harshly as she took a seat on the sofa.

He remained silent, hung his head.

"I don't even care that you pulled me into the pond and got me all wet. I just want to know why you insist on butting in and making my life difficult."

He kept mute, after all, she had told him she didn't want to hear him.

"_Well!?_" she barked.

"I don't like him," he conceded as he slumped down into the sofa next to her.

"That's great!" she said overflowing with fake enthusiasm. "I didn't feel like sharing him with you anyways!" She clapped her hands together and tipped her head to the side donning a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"What's so great about him?" he grumbled.

She bit her bottom lip and went into a dream-like state as she thought about it. She began listing things off, counting off her fingers. "Well one, he's handsome. Two, he's smart. Three he's kind. Four, he's honest."

"I see."

"A gentleman."

"Ok."

"Attentive."

"_Ok. I get it_."

"Did I mention handsome?"

"Yes, I believe you did. Ok, so he's perfect."

"Well, I wouldn't say he's perfect. One of his nostrils is slightly smaller than the other." Her humblebrag received an eye roll from her friend. "What does it even matter if you like him or not? You're not going to be seeing much of him anyways."

That simple statement festered in burrowed in Larry's mind, twisting the meaning of her words. The rational side of him knew she was merely stating facts, that he had no reason to engage with Honi. But his thoughts were currently being occupied by the brief exchange they had, man to man. _She might end up despising him…_He knew he got under people's skin and that he had been lucky that his friends tolerated him as much as they did, but maybe now he was pushing it.

"I don't know…" he began. He really didn't. He had no idea what prompted him to be annoyingly intrusive. "I guess…" he searched for the right words that would get him off the hook. "I guess I feel the need to look out for you. Well, you told me about…" he trailed off not sure how to broach the subject.

"David?" she finished for him. She gave a reassuring smile and gave his knee a soft pat. "That's sweet, but I'm no longer that nine-teen-year-old student nurse infatuated with some guy much too old for her at the time," she explained with a soft sigh thinking about it. "I've grown a lot, learned a lot. My self-esteem is a hell of a lot higher." She chuckled proudly. "I'm better at reading people, now. I _knew_ you were going to give me trouble as soon as I met you," she said cracking a wide smile and a good-natured elbow to his side.

"OK, so I just want to make sure you don't get hurt."

"Well stop. I can take care of myself. You're giving Honi the wrong idea of us."

"How so?"

"He thinks you're jealous."

"Of what?" Larry snapped.

"He thought we used to date."

"Sounds like he's _jealous_."

"Aww, he is, isn't he?"

"What?"

"Kinda sweet."

He cocked a brow. "Thought jealousy was a vice?"

"I mean, he's not being overbearing and irrational about it. He's giving me space and merely wondering where he stands. That's not too bad," she reasoned.

Larry wondered what she thought about him when Honi asked her if he was jealous, he decided against asking her not wanting to provoke anything.

"So what book did he get you?" he found himself asking instead.

"I don't know, let's see." She said grabbing the bag she had tossed onto her coffee table earlier and took out the book. "_Touch Me," _she said reading the title.

Larry's face twisted in judgmental disapproval. "That's awfully forward of him."

"It's a collection of poems by some actress."

"Yikes."

* * *

Thanks so much for sticking around and reading this! Honestly, I don't know how to show you guys how much I appreciate all of y'all.


	13. Richer For Poorer In Sickness& in Health

A/N: This was last minute planned. It's not important other than to paint useless Larry in a better light. Pray for Terri. I really meant to keep this chapter brief, but I got carried away.

* * *

For Richer,**_ For Poorer, In Sickness_, **and in Health

Larry tugged at the collar of his shirt while stood in front of the ATM checking his balance. Even though the evening sun was setting it was still humid enough to feel uncomfortable while dressed up for his upcoming date. Or maybe it was the fact that he was worried about the low balance in his bank account. A slight frown appeared on his face as he tried to figure out his situation. With his paycheck being mailed to Hawaii, it had come later than he had expected. Then after he had deposited it, it hadn't been cleared to be used. He wasn't exactly broke, but he wanted to splurge a little on his date while also being secure enough to know that he wasn't going to starve for the next three to five business days.

He had no intention of canceling his date. After all, he hadn't been on a date since he arrived in Hawaii and was actually a bit disappointed with himself. He practically had to grovel at the feet of the woman he met that morning at the docks in order to get her to agree to a date that very evening. He used to be someone with a different date on a daily basis but now, he hadn't even had one. He hoped a little splurging would go a long way… at least third base.

Due to his current situation, he decided he needed to take a detour before picking up his date. He hopped back into his car and drove on over to his very kind, very generous, hopefully very charitable, new best friend, Terri Alden.

After giving his usual knock, Larry stood waiting in front of her door while making a quick mental run-through of just what to say in order to convince her to lend him some cash. He knocked once more when she didn't come to answer the door after some time. He began to wonder if she was home and called out for her. Finally, he heard the lock click and it soon swung open revealing a very tired and disheveled looking Terri, still in a robe. The tip of her nose was red while her eyes were bleary and her hair was pulled into a messy (what couldn't have possibly passed for) bun.

He raised his brows at the sight with some concern. However, he had important matters to discuss and pressed on. "Hey Ter— " he began, only to be cut off when she sneezed loudly. He was sure he felt spittle make his way and grimaced. "Thanks," he said flatly.

She sniffed and narrowed her eyes at him. "Wha' do you wan'?" she snapped, but her stuffy nose made her sound like a whiny child. Terri sniffed once again, rubbing her nose with the sleeve of her robe.

He took a step back, trying not to catch whatever she had. "Uh you alright there, Ter'?"

"No. All thags to you," she grumbled as she turned away from him.

"Me?!" he screeched while following her in and shutting the door behind him.

With her shoulders slumped and her sneezing resuming, she had dragged herself over to the couch where she promptly collapsed onto it. She curled herself against the couch and drew up a blanket around herself whilst hacking up a cough.

Larry's eyes widened as he took in the state of the area around her couch, where used tissues piled next to it on the floor. Her coffee table was another mess of off half-empty mugs and cups of water and orange juice along with some a variety of medication bottles.

"Yeah. It's your fault. If you hadn't pulled me into the pond, I wouldn't have caught a cold'uh," Terri complained, blaming him for her current state of misery.

"Well, you pushed me in, and I'm not sick." At the corner of his eyes, he saw her black little kitten, getting ready to pounce into the pile of tissue. He quickly grabbed Sergio before it got into the gross mess, causing it to let out an unsatisfied meow of a complaint.

"Con_gradu_lations," she replied sarcastically, right before she started coughing into the crook of her arm. Larry grimaced and frowned down at her. She looked up at him and reached out her hands, requesting to hold her kitten.

He handed over Sergio and watched her instantly cuddle it like a teddy bear. Terri could barely keep her eyes open, congestion making it difficult for her to stay alert. Larry gathered he needed to ask for his favor before she fell asleep. That, or he would have to just go through her purse and leave a note.

"Hey, Terri. Honey," he sang with a soft lilt, hoping it would make her more obliging.

Instead, it had the opposite effect. She was now wary of his intentions. "Whad'uh?" she asked but didn't seem to pay much attention to him.

"Can I borrow like fifty bucks?"

"No." She was quick to deny even in her sick and sleepy state.

"_Please_. I'm strapped for cash."

"What for?"

"I need to eat…" he simply stated and waited for her to change her mind. But Terri didn't show any indication that she cared for his explanation as she remained unmoved. "I'm a broke, _starving_ man, Terri. Have pity on me," he begged to try and appeal to her compassionate side. But again, nothing. Not a single reaction. "… And I would also like to feed another starving human being."

At that, Terri gave a disparaging snort.

"That human being…," he paused, contemplating about trying to further sell his story with half-truths then decided against it, "is my date," he finally revealed with a sigh.

"Now, was that so hard'uh?" She opened her eyes just to side-eye him. "So how long has it been since she's had a meal that she agreed to dinner with you? Three? Maybe four days?" she managed to quip.

Larry threw his head back and gave a very obvious phony laugh at her gibe hoping it would move things along. "You're so funny…" he said as his fake laughter ebbed away. "So about that money."

Knowing his reputation, Terri didn't want to lend him the money, but she was too tired to deal with him. She knew that if she refused he would continue to bother her. "My purse is in my room. Go grab it for me, would'ya."

Larry eagerly obliged since he was going to get his money and would soon be on his was way to a hot date. He entered her room and scanned the place for her purse, only to see that her bed was also littered with tissues. He cringed and shook his head, questioning himself how a nurse was this bad at taking care of herself.

He spotted her purse, sat on her bureau, grabbed it, and returned to the living room. He saw Terri wearily getting off the couch, muttering and groaning in the process.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked with concern, quickly made his way over to her side.

"I need to feed Sergio."

"Terri, just sit back down and relax," he insisted. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and had her sit back down. "I'll go feed him," he offered. "Also, here's your purse," he said placing it in her lap. "Don't be afraid to be generous," he prompted right before he left for her kitchen.

Entering the kitchen, Larry saw a half-eaten frozen pizza for one sitting on the table. He wondered if that was all the food she had eaten all day. Even if she had eaten it all, it wasn't exactly anything nutritious for someone with a cold. Looking into her fridge and cabinets, he found that she didn't have much stocked up. She had more canned cat food than actual food for herself.

"Terri? Is this all you have?" he shouted.

He heard her mumble something but couldn't decipher what she had said. He simply shook his head and ahead and went onto feeding Sergio. He didn't even need to call the kitten over, the little thing was already at his feet eagerly meowing for its dinner.

When Larry returned to the living room, he saw that Terri was resting in quite an uncomfortable position. She was sort of laid up on the couch, her blonde head buried in her folded arms where they stayed placed upon the armrest as her upper torso leaned against it in an awkward position.

"Terri, why don't you go to bed?"

She merely grunted at his suggestion, choosing to remain where she was.

He saw the cash she had tossed onto the coffee table for him and a murmured a "thank you" towards her as he pocketed it. "Terri?" he called and received a groan of acknowledgment from her. "Did you eat anything today?"

"Pizza," came her muffled answer.

"Is that it? You didn't even finish it."

"Chips," she said pointing to the floor where indeed a bag of chips lay.

"You should get something nutritional in ya."

She harrumphed into her arm. "I know."

"You don't have anything."

"You stayed here and ate all my food," Terri complained.

Larry was about to protest, but her muffled coughing stopped him. It wasn't like he had anything to defend himself with either. She wasn't wrong. He had stayed there and had eaten her food. But he told himself it wasn't his fault she hadn't done any grocery shopping.

Terri took a deep breath, calming herself from the small coughing fit she just had. "I'll go out and get things once I'm feeling a little better."

Her voice sounded hoarse and he could tell she was measuring her breaths as she tried to keep from coughing again. He also noted that she didn't exactly look like she was going to pep up anytime soon. He looked around the place and wondered if she needed anything, but Terri told him she was going to go out, and if she needed something she can get it herself. There wasn't any point offering his assistance. Plus, he needed to be on his way to picking up his date.

"Ok, well I'm going then," he said as he headed out way out.

Terri didn't even bother to look up, and simply gave him an 'A-ok' sign with her hand.

…

Larry whistled along to a song playing on his car radio as he drove off to pick up his date. As the song faded away and the radio DJ introduced a new song as something for those preparing for a romantic evening, he turned it up. He didn't expect to feel his stomach flip at the familiar riff of the electric guitar. He instantly recognized the song as _Wonderful Tonight. _How effortlessly his mind recalled the evening when he had taught Terri a few chords of it on the guitar.

He had done nothing more than teaching her how to strum some chords to a popular song. Moments like those weren't something he kept stored in his mind. Moments like those were easily forgotten in place of something more hot and steamy. Yet there he was, unable to shake the simple intimacy he felt in that moment.

And just like that Terri weaved into his mind and all he could do was think about her. From the way she felt in his arms that evening to all the times she had berated him. The way her bright blue eyes danced when she was being mischievous. Her knowing grin when she had something on him. Or simply the way her golden hair framed her features when she decided to let her hair down both literally and figuratively.

He shook his head trying to reset his mind to focus on his upcoming date. He even changed the radio station. Larry attempted to rehearse all the things he could possibly say to put himself in the best light. Hell, he was trying to get lucky and needed to pull out all the stops. However, it was posing to be trouble. Every time his thoughts would return to poor, sick Terri. He would try to clear his thoughts of the nurse, but in the end, it gravitated back to her. Not only was he thinking about Terri, but he was also worried about her. He wondered if she would eat something that was good for her, or if she had enough medication. Would she feel well enough to go out and get the things she needed?

As he continued to dwell on her well-being, he began to feel guilty. Terri had blamed him for getting sick and having nothing at home. Usually when he got blamed for something he was able to disregard it. There wasn't any reason, none at all, that he should have been feeling guilty about. It wasn't his fault Terri had gotten sick. He had been in there right along with her and he was fine. If she didn't have anything to eat she could've ordered take-out or something.

He was going to go out on this date and have fun. He once again told himself he wasn't responsible.

His fingers tapped restlessly at the steering wheel as he continued to drive towards his date's place. Something in the back of his mind was making him feel disappointed with himself.

Larry groaned woefully before deciding to make a U-turn and head back to Terri's place.

…

When he got back to her place, he had a couple of bags of groceries along with some food he had picked up for them from a deli. He knocked and waited but she didn't answer. He had spotted her car parked outside on his way back and knew she was home. Coming to the conclusion she didn't answer because she was probably asleep, Larry let himself in with the spare key she had given him. A welcoming Sergio greeted by nearly tripping him as it rubbed up against his ankle and purred. But Terri, just as he had suspected, was asleep on her couch and remained unmoved from the same uncomfortable position as when he had left.

Placing the grocery bags and food on her coffee table, he went over to her side to tell her he was there before she tried to kill him for being an intruder of some sort.

"Terri," he called softly, but she didn't budge. So he moved in closer and bent down, hovering just slightly above her, softly crooning her name once again.

She turned her head up towards him, her face contorting to that of confusion. "You haven't left?"

"I came back."

"Huh?" She wasn't sure why he came back. Her eyes followed him as he fluffed up the throw pillows on the other end. "Why'd you come back?"

"Guilt," he stated before ushering her so that she could lie down and rest more comfortably. She practically plopped onto the pillows and let out a contented sigh.

"How are you feeling?" He asked looking down at her.

She pouted, then whined, "Horrible. I my nose is stuffy and my throat is scratchy."

"You just stay put. I'll be back with some food," he told her as he pulled the blanket to cover her.

"Mmhmm," she hummed in response, already shutting her eyes.

He gathered up the things he bought and took them to the kitchen to be put away, where he also tidied up and prepped a tray to take back to Terri.

It was awhile before he rejoined her on the couch with a tray of food and drinks he had bought. Larry took a seat on the edge of the couch, just in front of Terri's sleeping form. He pushed her half-empty cups and medication out of the way and settled the tray down before turning around to check on her.

He couldn't help but take in her features, simply noting the way her lashes dusted against her skin, her sharp jawline prominent as ever, the tip of her nose remained red, or how her striking cheekbones seemed paler compared to their usual tinge of pink. He gently pushed aside her flaxen hair away from her forehead and placed his hand there to assess her temperature and was glad to find that she didn't feel feverish.

Terri's eyes fluttered open at his touch. She stared up at him, her brows knitting together as if trying to gather what was currently taking place.

Larry gave her a soft smile only to see her scowl in return.

"What took you so long? I'm starving," she complained.

His pleasant smile was replaced with a scowl to match hers. "Who am I? Cinderella?" he sneered. Trying to sound feminine, in a high pitched voice he said sarcastically, "My apologies, wicked stepmother."

She opened her mouth to retort only to end up coughing in his face. Terri went red from embarrassment and quickly covered her mouth, her coughing just didn't want to end.

Larry didn't even bother to make a fuss at being attacked by her unexpected cough in the face, instead, he helped her sit up and grabbed a cup of water that was laying around on the coffee table and offered it to her.

While Terri got her coughing under control, Larry turned around and grabbed her a bowl. "Look, I got you chicken noodle soup," he said getting a spoon full, blowing onit to cool it down.

"I'm able to feed myself, you know," she said with a huff and traded the bowl of soup for her empty cup.

"Be careful, it's still pretty hot."

She didn't heed his warning at all, shoveling a spoonful into her mouth only to end up gasping trying to cool down her burning mouth.

"What did I just say?"

She was still sputtering unable to respond while fanning her burning mouth with a hand.

"You sure you can feed yourself?" he asked before turning around to attend to his own meal.

She made a face at him before she spooned some more soup, this time blowing on it first. "I'm just really hungry," she muttered before eating it. Terri took note that Larry wasn't having soup, but instead, he was picking up half of a sandwich about to dig in. "Is that a sandwich?" she asked and licked her lips.

"Yeah, Pastrami."

"Can I have a bite?"

"No."

"Meany."

"I'm not sharing a sandwich with you. You are sick. I don't want your germs on my food."

"_Please_," he heard her beg, in the tiniest voice. Looking over at her he saw that she was pouting at him like a sad little girl.

"Ok, but let me go get a knife to cut it."

Larry went back into the kitchen and grabbed a knife then heard her yell, "Is that butternut squash soup?" so he also grabbed an extra bowl.

He got back to see that she had taken a bite from his sandwich. "Terri!" he scolded.

"_It jus a bite!_" she defended herself through a mouthful.

"How are you like this? You're a nurse."

She took a while chewing it and before gulped it down. Terri then flashed a mischievous grin. "So… can I have it?"

He gaped at her, baffled that she was being this conniving, especially in her state. "You're a brat, you know that?" he stated curtly and Terri playfully stuck out her tongue as a response, if only to further affirm of being a found her plucky side rather amusing and couldn't even find it in himself to be upset with her. He pinched her cheek jokingly before taking a seat on one end of the couch.

He settled himself back onto the couch and plated the half sandwich Terri had taken a bite out of. He ladled out some of his soup into the empty bowl for Terri before finally getting to eat his meal, which he found he had to also share some of with Sergio.

They ate and chatted while watching some television.

After they were done eating Larry handed her a couple of aspirin and water. "How are you feeling now?"

Terri tipped her head back and swallowed her medication with a gulp of water. "Much better. The food really worked," she replied, handing back the glass. He took it and piled it onto the tray where he had begun to pile up their dirty dishes and bowls to take carry back to the kitchen. "Thank you," she added as she watched him clear the coffee table.

She found herself leaning towards him and her eyes fell shut as she puckered her lips, about to give him a peck on his cheek. Terri continued to lean in, thinking she would make contact, only to lose her balance and fall over, connecting face first with the couch instead. She opened her eyes, confusion marring her features as she pushed herself up.

"Yeah, no problem," she heard Larry say, already walking away and heading towards the kitchen with a pile of dirty plates and cups.

Terri stood up and felt her legs were stiff from having been lying around all day and realized she probably also needed to freshen up just a bit. She stopped by the bathroom before following Larry into the kitchen. She noticed how much tidier the place was since she had been in there.

"Wow, did you cleaned up in here?"

"Mmmhmm." He nodded as he stood by the sink washing the dishes.

Terri strolled over beside him. "You wash and I'll rinse," she offered.

"Go back to the living room and rest, I'll take care of everything." He turned looked to her and noticed she looked refreshed. "Decided to do something about that rat's nest, I see," he commented nodding at her hair and received an eye roll from her. "You look like you're feeling better, but I can handle it go watch TV or something."

"I've rested the whole day. I'm feeling much better now!" she said enthusiastically, as she picked up a plate "I was just tired because I was up all night coughing away. The trouble of having a postnasal drip," she explained.

"And probably because all you ate was junk food."

She repeated what he said in a mocking tone, not appreciating getting lectured by Larry of all people.

"You know," he began, "if you were too sick to go out and buy something, you could have called and asked me to help you."

Asking Larry for help that didn't include scheming? It had never once crossed her mind.

"Not just when you're sick, with anything. If you need help moving, with Sergio, car troubles." He looked to her with a soft smile, but that soft smile turned into a smirk. "Even something as small as helping you unzip a hard-to-reach zipper. It doesn't have to be hard to reach," he added with a playful wink.

Terri bumped his shoulder with hers but returned his smile nonetheless. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Great! Just call when you would like to be unzipped… by yours truly."

She bumped him again, this time a little harder causing him to lose his footing slightly.

"Geeze, you're strong."

"So," she began as she rinsed a bowl of its soapy water. "Did you cancel your date?"

"Yeah, because I'm an amazing, caring, _sensitive_ person who makes sure a sick friend is well taken care of. I'd probably make a better nurse than you."

Terri rolled her eyes so hard at his overzealous self-praise that her head had to follow. "Wow, what's keeping you from floating off into space with that massively, inflated ego of yours?" she quipped.

"Anyways," Larry began, ignoring her comment, "I believe you owe me twenty-five cents. I had to call her from a payphone to cancel."

She sighed, slouched a bit, and rested her head against his shoulder. "You didn't have to cancel your date. I can take care of myself."

"You made me feel guilty."

She felt him give a shrug so she pulled away and looked at him. "I was joking."

"Oh sure, _now_ you tell me. I could've been having the time of my life, but here I am doing dishes," he whined slumping of his shoulders. "I'm like Cinderella being kept away from going to the ball to do chores."

"In that case, I'm the fairy godmother who provided you with fifty bucks for that date of yours."

He went silent.

"Well, since you didn't go on your date, where is it?"

He grumbled. "I believe the magic didn't last and it has disappeared," he claimed and Terri bumped him again for being sassy. "It's in my pocket," he said while jutting out his hip towards her since his hands were all soapy and wet.

Terri scoffed. "You can return it later. Forty-nine, seventy-five. You can keep your stupid quarter."

The two quickly finished doing the rest of the dishes. As she rinsed the last cup, Larry brought a tea kettle over and filled it up with water.

"I bought some mint tea," Larry told her.

"Ah, thanks. Good for the throat," she acknowledged with a nod. She shook her hand of the water then looked around for a towel to dry her hands.

Terri grabbed a dish towel and dried her hands, she looked around her kitchen noticing he had bought a few more things than just mint tea and their dinner. She then walked over her fridge and opened it to see that it had more items than it did that morning. Orange juice, eggs, milk, some deli meat, cheese, a variety of vegetables. She stared at it, taken aback that Larry had actually picked up groceries for her.

"Looking for something?" he asked as he took a couple of mugs from the dish rack.

"No, uh. Wow." She muttered while shutting the refrigerator door.

"What?"

"I just didn't think you went out and got everything." She looked over to see him lean against the kitchen counter as he waited for the tea kettle to whistle. "Uh, you've been really wonderful. Really. Huh, you're actually kinda great."

"Why thank you," he chimed, "Glad to hear you finally admit to it. After all this time, you saw me as nothing more than scum. But finally, _finally_, you see me for what I am worth," he added haughtily with his nose up.

He simply had no idea how to be humble and she found it irksome. She folded her arms across her chest, pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him, "Almost makes up for ruining my date yesterday."

"_Almost!?_" his voice cracked as cried, his dark eyes widening, mystified that she was still holding a grudge for yesterday's date. "Geeze, what does a guy have to do be forgiven around here?"

Terri tipped her head and hummed thoughtfully. "You'll be in my good graces soon enough if you keep up this good behavior," she advised as she gestured vaguely around her. She saw Larry cock a brow her way and she met it by flashing a bright smile at him right before turning on her heels and walking out of the kitchen.

"I gave up my date for you! I think we're even!" he shouted after her.

"_HA!_" she shouted back as she headed to her bedroom.

Her date got chocked by a boa constrictor and actually had to deal with the used car salesman. Larry merely had to postpone his date, and she didn't even ask him to do that, he did that all on his… own… hmm…

She stepped into her bedroom, thinking she should clean up, and much to her surprise it was already tidied. Unless Sergio was the smartest and strongest kitten in the universe, this was all Larry. The tissues she had strewn about were all in the wastebasket and he had even bothered to make up her bed. He was definitely surprising her by being genuinely thoughtful while she had been giving him a hard time.

Never in a million years did the blonde think she would be finding Larry to be an enigma. She truly believed she had him pegged exactly to the very core of who he was as a person. Admittedly, she never really did get to know him. He was merely an upstairs neighbor, a friend of Jack, and someone who occasionally brought misfortune to them (though it was usually due to the fact that he particularly lacked the gift of foresight). Plus, he had a reputation of a playboy, so she knew to always keep him at arm's length.

But now, _now_, she was practically forced to get to know him and at every turn, he seemed to peel back layer and show a side of him she hadn't been aware of before.

However, he still enjoyed— nay, was proud of— being a womanizer. Ultimately that still made her wary of him.

She headed back towards the kitchen but stopped herself from entering when she saw Larry holding up Sergio so they were face to face. She kept herself hidden from his view and spied on him talking to her kitten.

"No," he cooed to the kitten. "I'm not feeding you again."

_Meow._

"I said no more for tonight. Not only did your mommy eat half my sandwich, you ate some of mine too."

_Meow._

"Look, Terri might be able to boss me around, but I don't take orders from you."

Terri's jaw dropped when she heard him say that. When did she ever boss him around?

_Meow._

"Ok, maybe she doesn't boss me around," he amended. "I guess I just wanted to do these things for her because… I like to see her… in a good mood."

Terri felt her breath catch.

"I mean I want to stay on her good side. She's scary."

Quickly her breath returned and she was offended, but also quite proud of herself that she scared him.

_Meow._

"You? You're not scary," he told the kitten. "You're just cute."

_Meow._

"Yeah, I know… she's cute too..."

She felt her cheeks warm at his words, her hands cupped her face as if to hide her blush. Suddenly, Terri felt a cough come on. Although she tried to stifle it, there was no holding it in. Hoping she hadn't drawn attention to herself, she darted to the living room practically lunging onto the couch. The small burst of energy exerted made her coughing worse. She ended up having coughing fit, feeling like she was hacking up a lung. Larry appeared next to her, holding out a cup of water to her.

She gratefully accepted it sipping on it as she regained her composure. Once finished Larry was already handing her a medicine cup full of cough syrup.

"Thanks," she murmured before gulping down the bitter yet sickeningly sweet, thick syrup.

The tea kettle whistled loudly and Larry got back up and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Terri slumped back into the couch and groaned. She felt like she was on edge even though she kept telling herself there was no reason for her to be feeling that way. She couldn't fathom feeling touched simply because she overheard him telling her cat things. He wanted to make sure she was feeling well and that showed he cared. Though he did say it was because she scared him. Then he told Sergio she was cute and there she was feeling flattered by it. Larry had always blatantly praised her beauty, but never had it once made her feel anything more than annoyance. But this silly little one-sided exchange he had with her cat somehow didn't compare to all those usual come-ons. It was different. It felt… genuine.

"Terri?"

She hadn't realized he was back and quickly sat up.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked taking a seat next to her.

"Uhh… you tidied up my room."

"_Cinderella, Cinderella, all I hear is Cinderella_," he sang jokingly. "Here," he said holding out a mug to her. "Your tea, Drizella."

"Are you calling me an _ugly_ step-sister?" She would have been more offended if she hadn't just heard him tell Sergio he found her cute.

"I take that back, maybe you're Snow White's evil stepmother. Mirror, mirror, on the wall who's the fairest of them all? And if that mirror says anyone but you, you'd have them dragged into the forest and murdered."

He was joking with her but she was still stuck in her thoughts unable to retort back like she usually would. She felt the need to sort things out and settle it. She took a sip from her mug and let the hot liquid and mint soothe her throat. But what good was a soothed throat if she didn't know what words to say? She fidgeted with the mug in her hand as she thought about the course of action she would take.

"Terri?"

She looked up at him.

"Are you feeling ok? You look a bit flushed."

"I uh… I'm fine! I mean… it must be my cold."

"Maybe you have a fever?" he suggested and reached out to feel her forehead.

Instinctively, she slapped his hand away.

"Well, _excuse_ me," Larry huffed. "I was just trying to see if you felt warm."

"Sorry, sorry. I'm fine." She quickly apologized. "Larry, can I ask you something?"

He turned to face her and leaned against his arm propped against the couch. "Anything, sweetheart." He winked and she sneered.

"You date around _a lot_, and I mean _a lot_."

"Well, when you got it, you got it," he bragged.

Her lips peeled back and she gave an unconvinced nod. "Sure. But have you ever been in a serious relationship? Ever?"

"Sure I have!"

"Really?"

"Sure I dated this girl for about two weeks!" he claimed quite confidently. But then he became unsure of himself as he thought about it. "Wait no… she was a twin. I dated her sister the next week." He pondered on it a little longer going through the list of girls he had dated. "Oh right, I almost got married once."

Terri side-eyed him and stated flatly, "Janet doesn't count."

"No, not Janet. Gloria."

"Gloria?"

"She kept saying no to me," he said contemplatively. "Had to propose to get her to say yes," he explained with a knowing smirk.

Terri rolled her eyes.

"Jack was my best man, and we were gonna have a small little ceremony at Old Roper's place."

"So then…" Terri yawned, "what happened?"

"Jack talked me out of it."

"What? Why?" she asked though she was growing sleepy from her medication.

"Jack told me to go for the H's," he explained.

"What?"

"My goal is to make my way through the phonebook alphabetically," he told her proudly. "So on the day of the wedding, I realized I just couldn't give up that dream. I mean I was also doing a service. All those lucky women that got to experience dating… me."

"Ugh Larry," she groaned.

"Janet told me Gloria was a run-away bride. Gloria found out I didn't own the used car lot and ditched me at our wedding. So much for richer or poorer."

"Why would she think you owned—" Terri started to ask but cut herself off when she figured it out for herself. "You lied, didn't you?"

"I tell you I get stood up at my wedding and that's what you choose to hear? Where's the sympathy, Terri?"

She slapped him in the arm. "Insufferable pig," she grumbled. He was so annoyingly full of himself. He always painted himself in the best light even if he knew he was doing something lowly. She wondered if he was even human.

"So, what brought up this question?" he asked.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just amazed you haven't had a single date since you got to Hawaii."

"Ugh don't remind me."

Terri yawned, the codeine from her medication kicking in. "I can change that."

"_Really?_" Larry's voice perked up. Her words brought on ideas that made him hopeful for a good time.

"Yeah, change the channel to a movie. Date," she yawned again, "night."

His hopes were quickly crushed. "Sure thing, Sleepy," he said dryly.

Terri quickly took rapid breaths, as she felt a sneeze coming on.

"Or is it Sneezy?" Larry remarked as he quickly grabbed some tissue and handed over just in time as she sneezed into it. He took a deep sigh and grabbed the remote, flipping through the channels looking for a movie as she had suggested.

Terri suddenly scooted closer to him. "Forget the movie," she said after Larry had flipped through a few channels.

Larry was shocked, his hopes once again were restored. "Wow, really?" Excitement teemed his voice and he cracked a wide grin.

"I can barely keep my eyes open," she claimed, instantly wiping the grin off of his face. Suddenly she shoved him making him scoot over to the very end of the couch.

"Sheesh, no need to push me. If you want me to leave—" he began but stopped when Terri used his lap as a pillow and curled her legs up on to the couch.

"Sing," she ordered just as she yawned.

"What?"

"Mmm, sing like you do for Roxy and Sergio," she requested.

"Oh." His hand lightly tapped at her arm as he thought of a song. He began singing softly, _Misty _by Ella Fitzgerald, but soon the temptation to belt it out like the great was much too strong and he cried out, "_I get misty, JUST HOLDING YOUR HAND._"

Terri slapped his knee. "No. _No_."

"_What_?" he whined.

"You can't sing that song."

"Why not?"

"Because you're—" she yawned once again, "—you're bad at it."

"You ask me for a favor and I get insulted for it. Wow."

"Another song."

He thought about it momentarily before humming _Dream a Little Dream_ like he usually did for the kittens.

A small smile graced Terri's lips as she relaxed and let herself be lulled to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Well...this chapter exists... it's not much but... yeah... Gratz for making it to the end.

Thanks for returning! I am so very grateful.

Stay safe my dears


	14. Public Display of Anger

**Public Display of Anger**

"_HEY!_" a middle-aged man sitting next to Terri shouted at her.

She paled with remorse and quickly apologized. She was sitting in the hot and humid crowded DMV, using the book Honi had given her to fan herself (rather than reading it) and had accidentally elbowed the man next to her in the face. It wouldn't have happened in the first place if Larry hadn't dragged her there on her Monday off.

Larry had called that morning begging her to accompany him claiming that it would be mind-numbingly boring to wait around at the DMV all by himself. By calling her, he had already put her into a foul mood. She had to drag her half-awake self to answer her phone just to stop the loud ringing that was disturbing the peace. Naturally, she had rejected him by simply hanging up and unhooked the phone for good measure before returning to bed.

About half an hour after she had blown him off and just when she was finally dozing off, loud knocking at her door jolted her awake. She should've known it would be none other than Larry when she answered it.

As soon as the door swung open he had enveloped her in a bear-hug, claiming he had been worried that she didn't answer her phone when he called her again, and again, and again. Terri stood there having yet to grasp the situation, still not fully wide awake. He didn't release her from his embrace right away, opting to feel her pressed against him like his usual perverted self.

It was when she heard his contented sigh she snapped out of her sleepy haze, becoming aware of his actions. Terri quickly used her well-learned self-defense technique to remove herself from his hold and then another move to have his arm twisted behind him. She put pressure on his bent wrist, causing a shooting pain to shoot up his arm. It had Larry apologizing and begging for mercy. Though she had eased up on his wrist, it didn't mean he was free from her hold, she was still angry with him. He began to bargain with her and offered to treat her to lunch for her time if she graced him with her presence. She took time pondering over it, having yet to release him, until he upped the offer by throwing in dinner as well. Her bighearted Mother Teresa like-self deemed that it was a pretty nice deal and relinquished him from her painful grip.

That was how she ended up sitting at the DMV with her new angry "friend", while hot, uncomfortable and also starving. It was lunchtime and Larry had disappeared somewhere instead of treating her to lunch like he had promised. She gathered that he was probably up and about flirting, preying on some unsuspecting woman. She hoped whoever that woman was, would be aggravated enough to kill Larry. That way, Terri reasoned, she would no longer have to be in the hellhole which was the DMV.

Terri made herself small and tried not to move around as much, instead of focusing her attention on the book at hand hoping it would take her mind off of how hot and how hungry she was feeling. Sadly, the book of poetry did nothing to distract her from her current state of misery. She was intently aware of how her stomach churned with hunger or that beads of sweat were rolling down her neck causing her hair to cling, making it feel like it was even hotter. She dug into her purse and found a hair scrunchie. As the blonde tied her hair up, she once again accidentally elbowed the man sitting next to her. He turned and growled at her like some rabid beast. Normally, she would have apologized but when she saw his mean, ugly, seething glare for a simple accident, she folded her arms and looked him up and down with a condescending sneer.

When the man finally looked away, knowing that he wasn't able to intimidate her, Terri gave a self-satisfied smirk. She returned to her book and not a moment later sighed audibly, absolutely unable to enjoy the ridiculous poems.

She felt Larry slip back into the chair next to her, moving her purse that she had put down to save his place. Even though she wasn't finding the book the least bit captivating, she didn't bother to look up from it. That was until she felt him assault her by placing a chaste kiss into her hair. Her brows rose high with suspicion, then she slowly turned towards him and shot a questioning look.

"Thanks for coming with me." For some reason Larry spoke softly and quietly, thus having him lean in close to her just so she could hear him. It caused Terri to feel a knot beginning to form somewhere in the pit of her stomach. He must've noticed the change in her demeanor when he decided to ask, "Are you better now? Do you still have a fever?"

She snapped her book shut, and the sudden noise startled Larry and caused him to lean back away from her.

"I had a cold a week ago, Larry. I'm perfectly fine." Her words came out terse in order to hide her uneasiness.

Larry nodded slowly and smiled at her like he was someone face to face with a lioness and he was trying to communicate he meant no harm. He raised an arm and dangled a few bags of snacks from the vending machine in front of her, hoping it would make her less snippy with him.

Pushing the feeling aside, she masked herself with indifference. "This better not be my lunch," she forewarned, snatching the bags out of his hand.

"Of course not, dear."

Soft-spoken and a soft smile to boot, making the knot in her stomach tighten. Choosing to ignore the feeling, she opened up the bag of chips. Instead of taking one and popping it into her mouth, she tilted her head back and tipped some of the bag's contents into her awaiting mouth, hoping getting food into her empty stomach would make the knot go away. When she returned her head to normal position, she felt Larry's eyes upon her. She held out the opened bag to offer him some.

He held his hand up and shook his head, refusing the offer. "That's all for you Terri, honey. You need it."

His words didn't settle quite right with her. She also felt like he was gazing at her, dare she say, tenderly. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, wondering if she was making a big deal of nothing.

He leaned back into his seat getting comfortable and took the book from her lap. "Wow, you're actually reading this tacky thing?" He flipped through the pages of _Touch Me _and skimmed a poem before laughing at something about not wasting love on dogs.

Terri snatched the book away from him and put it into her purse. "He was nice enough to get it for me."

He nodded shifting his attention elsewhere, dropping the subject so he didn't have to hear her defend the guy. "So, lucky for us, I got that woman over there," he said pointing to a brunette, "to switch tickets with me. We're up by five people now." He waved the queue number ticket, showing it off to her.

"How'd you get her to do that?"

"By being my charming self." His wink was paired with a suspicious smirk.

Terri gave a small amused scoff, unconvinced by his answer. She dismissed her suspicion of him as she continued to munch. However, she didn't feel comfortable and felt that he had gone back to staring at her. "What?" she finally asked, meeting his gaze.

He shook his head, mumbling a quiet "nothing".

"You didn't upgrade your car," she acknowledged, deciding small talk was a preferable distraction to the current discomfort she was feeling.

"You were right," Larry admitted, though to what she didn't know. Terri shot him a puzzled look prompting him to continue. "I shouldn't be messing around with these cars. I already have enough problems on my plate." He slumped back into his seat, tipped his head and back stared up at the ceiling as he exhaled loudly, looking as deflated as he felt.

She considered his words as she popped more chips into her mouth. "Problems? Like what?" she asked through mid-chew.

"Everything is happening so fast, and being new in town makes it that much harder."

Terri careened her head up a bit so that she could see his face. She swallowed her food before she spoke. "You know I'm always here to help."

"Thanks," Larry finally said, scooting back up in the chair to sit properly so that Terri no longer had to hover over. "Actually I am going to be getting more help. My boss is sending over an HR manager."

"Oh, that's good."

"Yeah, but they're from LA, too. We're just going to be two newbies in town not knowing where to go or what to do."

"You know what you need?" She asked just before tipping her head back and emptying the remnants of the bag of chips.

"What?"

"An assistant," she mumbled through a mouthful. "Someone who happens to know the ins and outs of Oahu."

"An assistant huh?" He hummed thoughtfully. "You know that's not a bad idea!" he said perking up. "Do you think I can implement a Luau day and have them come in a coconut bra?"

She gave him a good slap to his arm. "God, Larry! You're such a pig!"

"_Me?_" He hissed back while rubbing his sore upper arm. "Look at you eat!" he pointed out, thus earning an irritated shove from the nurse.

"_You promised lunch! Not just snacks!_" she bristled.

"But really, it's a good idea," he commended, nodding in approval.

"I suggest you hire a man."

"_Terri!_" He gasped. His dark eyes widening in the process. "I didn't know you were so sexist! This is the eighties we don't discriminate against sexes!" he reprimanded. "I'll only hire him if he looks good in a coconut bra," he added flatly and tried to keep a straight face as he delivered his joke. He received a snort of laughter from Terri when she lightly thwarted his arm. His stoic face softened with a smile; it was nice that she was being agreeable with him for a change.

…

Terri waited in line at the women's restroom minding her own business, as one does, until the lady in front of her turned and acknowledged her.

"Oh it's you!" she said with a wide grin as if she knew Terri.

Terri recognized her as the woman Larry had pointed out earlier for trading queue tickets with him. That was the only extent of knowledge Terri had with her, she didn't know her personally, or at least couldn't recall if she did. "Hi," Terri replied politely with an uncertain smile.

Another woman walked out of the stall and Terri's new acquaintance gestured towards it. "You know what? You go on ahead. I know what it's like to be in your situation."

"My situation?" Terri repeated with confusion.

The woman simply stepped aside to allow her room to pass. Terri, still confused, didn't further question it and took to the empty stall. A rather odd exchange, she wanted nothing more than for it to be over.

When Terri finished up in the restroom, she returned to where she had been sitting, only to find Larry missing. She scanned the room full of people and finally spotted him talking to an elderly man. From her view, she saw Larry exchange something with the man. She couldn't shake the feeling that Larry was up to something sordid.

"We're up by another three," Larry informed her, holding up a new queue ticket number when he returned.

Terri looked up and narrowed her eyes at him, trying to see if he was hiding anything. "Really, Larry, why on earth would anyone be willing to wait longer in this hot, crowded hell than they already need to?"

He shrugged.

"What did you say to the woman who traded with you earlier?" She gathered the awkward exchange at the women's restroom had something to do with him.

"Why?"

"I bumped into her waiting in line. She was being … _nice_."

"And that's a problem? She even traded tickets, it's probably in certain people's nature to be nice."

Terri grumbled, not satisfied with his reasoning but unable to find fault in it.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah! Where's my lunch?" she demanded.

"Can I borrow a few bucks?" he asked meekly.

"_What_?"

"The vending machine only takes cash— "

"Are you _kidding_ me?"

"I'll pay you back."

"This doesn't count as the lunch you promised me," she told him as she dug into her purse for some change.

"I know, I know," he mumbled as he took the cash from her.

With her money, Larry disappeared leaving Terri to her own thoughts. She couldn't help but analyze Larry. There was something off. Or maybe there wasn't and he had finally stopped trying to show off that he was a lady's man around her.

Recalling that he had actually canceled a date to take care of her over a simple cold. He had surprised her that evening with everything he had done for her. Also the next morning she was again pleasantly surprised when she found herself waking up in bed, even though she had fallen asleep on the couch.

Larry even showed up that morning before he headed off to work to check in on her. Albeit, he did bring Roxy and dropped off the little critter in her care so that she wouldn't be at his place all alone. He did however make a fuss about her health before he left. And when he stopped by to pick up his kitten that night, he had made another fuss over her.

Even though for the rest of the week they hadn't found time to meet up he called her regularly at night just to talk. What surprised her was when she shared about her first day of therapy with him. That wasn't something she did with just anyone. She might have shared with family and close friends, but never thought Larry would be someone in that circle. First sessions were always hard; revisiting hard topics was never great and she was grateful he was there as support. Larry actually stayed on the phone and heard her out, even offering to come over if she needed it.

And presently while at the DMV it felt like he was being extra considerate.

He came back with a couple of chocolate bars, sodas, and a self-assured smirk. "We moved up another two places," he told her as he sat down.

She rolled her eyes and took the chocolate bar. As she bit off a piece of her candy bar, she locked eyes with an old lady who shook her blueish gray head at her. Some random old lady was judging her and she had no idea why. Then the old lady got up from her seat and began approaching her, and there was this look of disappointment placed firmly on her aging face. Lips pressed tightly into a straight line as she waddled up to where Terri sat.

Terri looked to Larry to see if he had noticed, and indeed he had. He began shifting nervously in his seat and sat up straight.

"Just play along," he instructed her quietly.

Terri shot him a confused look but smiled politely once the old lady was near them.

"Irma!" Larry greeted delightfully standing up.

"Hello, young man."

"Say… Thank you for switching with me, it was very kind of you." He took one of the old lady's hand and patted it gently. "Ahh, and this is _the _Terri," he informed her, gesturing towards the blonde. "Terri, hun, this is Irma."

"Lovely to meet you, dear," the old lady said with a small smile. "I'm just here out of concern." She sounded like a worried grandmother.

"There's nothing to be concerned about," he replied quickly and assuredly, which had Terri on her toes. She hadn't been able to piece together what stupid stunt Larry was pulling but that knot she was feeling before finally started to make sense to her. It turned out that know was because she had been apprehensive by his behavior.

"Dear," the old lady called looking at Terri.

She swallowed the morsel of candy she had been chewing on. "Hi," she greeted with a mumble as she covered her mouth.

"You shouldn't be snacking on junk food. I know it's tempting."

Terri's brows came together in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"She can't help her cravings," Larry said for some reason making an unnecessary excuse.

"_Cra-vings?_" Terri repeated cocking her head to the side as if she was Tarzan king of the Jungle learning the word for the first time. "So what if I crave a candy bar?" the blonde snapped as she thought about how unnecessary it was the old bat had waddled over just to police her eating habits. With hands-on her hips she jutted her chin up and out at the lady standing before her. "I'll eat if I want to. What's it any of your—"

"Oh dear me! Oh no! I'm not saying you shouldn't eat! Just try to make sure it's nutritious," the old lady waved frantically.

It was obvious to Larry that Terri was growing with irritation by the way her blue eyes lit up as she glared up at Irma. He attempted to calm her down with a pat to her head. Terri's eyes peered up at the top of her head, her lips jutting out into a pout as her nose and forehead crinkled into a displeased scowl; not at all appreciating being treated like a dog.

"I brought a sandwich for myself," Irma informed them while taking a sandwich bag out of her purse. "You should have it instead." She held it out to Terri who blinked up at her.

Larry quickly accepted the sandwich on her behalf and thanked Irma. "You're so very kind and generous." He sat back down and began unpacking it, while Terri was left without answers, her eyes darted back and forth between the two trying to figure out what was going on, and what her role was in all this.

"You should eat, my dear," the older woman said eyeing Terri up and down. "You're all skin and bones."

Terri was suddenly annoyed, finding it absolutely rude that a stranger was commenting on her body. Pointing her candy bar at the lady, Terri started to tell her off, "Hey who do you think— "only to get cut off by Larry.

"She should definitely eat more," he said, speaking over her.

The old lady smiled and said delightfully, "Yes, you're eating for two now! The baby needs sustenance!"

Terri's blue eyes widened as she realized what Irma had been talking about. "The ba-!?" She began to screech, only to find herself being muffled with half of a peanut butter sandwich.

Larry shoved the sandwich into her mouth as if he was taking on the role of a doting partner but it was merely to keep her from speaking. "Eat up, honey. It's nutritious and delicious."

Terri let out a muffled protest with half a peanut butter sandwich hanging out of her mouth.

"Chew, darling," Larry advised, all the while staring at her with wide eyes, silently pleading for her to go along with him.

The nurse took a bite out of the sandwich, yanking the sandwich away like a Barbarian feasting on a turkey leg. Her eyes bored into Larry as she chewed thoroughly like he was the next thing she was going to devour.

He flashed a small grin at her then turned back to Irma. With his charming but crooked smile, he nodded gratefully. "You're such a wonderful woman! So caring and considerate! You have a heart of gold!" he showered her with compliments as a means of misdirection from his confused, newly appointed, baby mama.

Terri rolled her eyes at Larry's excessive overflowing flattery while she continued to finish up the sandwich.

Irma blushed from the string of compliments. "Oh, it's nothing. I know these things. With four kids of my own and six grandkids, I just wanted to pass on helpful advice. All my babies came out big and strong. None of them weighed less than nine pounds!"

Even though she wasn't even pregnant, the thought of pushing out a nine-pound baby made Terri nearly choke on her last bite of the sandwich. She began coughing and sputtering and Larry tried to soothe her by rubbing her back.

The old woman chuckled knowingly. "Must be your first," Irma deduced like she was the Sherlock Holmes of pregnancies.

Larry gasped, wide-eyed, feigning his astonishment. "That's amazing! How did you know?"

Terri wanted to smack him.

"She's barely showing! Usually, first-time pregnancies don't start showing until much later!" The lady noted and Terri nearly fell out of her chair.

There was nothing to be barely showing! Terri noticed how Larry stifled a laugh at her expense and decided two could play this game.

The nurse gave a pound to her chest and cleared her throat. She looked up at the old lady with soft eyes. "Well, our first and probably our last," Terri said as she followed it up with a great big disappointed sigh.

"Oh, dear! Why's that?"

"Well, Larry here hasn't even proposed to me," Terri claimed, bringing up her hand and wiggling her bare ring finger. She gave a pouty frown and stared at Irma with big, blue, sad eyes.

Irma looked mortified by the information she received. "She's carrying your child and you won't even propose to her!? What kind of horrible monster are you?"

"Yeah!" Terri agreed, nodding her head as she shot him a stern, resentful glare.

"I- I- I," Larry began stuttering at loss for words.

Irma began smacking Larry with her purse. "You bad, bad, man. You won't even make this girl into an honest woman."

He put his hands up to shield himself from her attacks, but Terri was on the other side getting in on the action, pounding his back away with her fists. She wasn't hitting him hard, but it was still annoying.

"Yeah! What she said. Bad, bad, man!" He could hear the hidden amusement in Terri's voice as she smacked him. She was having too much fun getting to abuse him.

"Okay! Okay! I'm horrible!" he admitted. "I'm going to propose! I will! I will," he said just so that the attacks on him would stop.

Irma stopped but Terri continued on with her assault while muttering, "bad, bad man," over and over.

He turned and caught her wrist, trying to stop her but she was still trying to smack him. "_Terri!_" he hissed, finally getting her to stop. "I _said_ I'll propose."

She cooled down and blinked at him. "Oh, ok," she said flatly with a shrug, evident that she didn't really care and was just having a grand time getting to smack him.

"If he doesn't marry you, dear, take him for everything he's got with child support," Irma advised before leaving the two.

"Will do! Buh-bye!" Terri said brightly while Larry groaned and tried to soothe the dull pain he felt. "What the _hell_ was that about?" Terri snapped once Irma was out of earshot.

Larry saw the man on the other side of Terri glance their way with a disapproving glower and the used car salesman flashed him a smile and asked how he was doing. The irritated man turned back around with a grumble of complaints. Larry lowered his voice, as to make sure those around him didn't hear as he explained to Terri. "I told people you were pregnant so they would switch tickets with me."

Terri's brows came together in confusion. "Did they think it was going to take us nine months to get to the clerk?" she asked, also lowering her voice.

"No. And it's about six months," he corrected her. He looked up to see her lips pressed tightly, confusion still etched in her features. "Well… I told people we needed to be at the doctor's for your first ultrasound." Her eyes were suddenly alight probably with the thought of— what he could only describe as— murder. "And of course, I wanted to be there as well," he added with a nervous chuckle hoping she found it amusing.

"That's why the lady in the line for the restroom was being so nice! She thought I was _pregnant_. And when I asked you… _you_ pretended not to _know_!" She plastered on a disturbing grin and threatened him through clenched teeth. "I'm going to _kill_ you."

"Do you want to be stuck here any longer? Don't you want to get out of here as soon as possible?"

"Is that why you brought me along? For your dumb scheme?"

"No… but it worked out that way."

"Ugh, Larry. How many people here think I'm pregnant? Why didn't you just go to the next person up instead of telling all these people lies…about me!" She was scathing and couldn't even yell at him with all the people around them. Not that they hadn't already drawn quite a few stares.

Larry sighed as if the answer was so simple. "If you were number five would you want to trade with someone at number fifty-five? Plus you're not going to see these people again. What does it matter?"

"You don't just use people like that Larry! That was embarrassing for me!"

"I seem to recall pretending to be Janet's husband for you."

"I was in a bind! I had some despicable, _married_ man making a move on me while my career was at stake!" she cried defending her actions. "You- you've always done this!" she said wagging her finger at him. "Making up some lie to get ahead and getting Jack in trouble. Now you're doing it to me!"

Larry realized as her irritation grew so did the volume of her voice and he tried to quiet her with a wave of his hand, only to have it slapped away.

"No! And- and- and-" she noticed the eyes of those around them on her and she lowered her voice. "That time you lied to me about Jack needing "tender loving care" because he just got dumped and Janet couldn't help! You _used_ me! I made a fool of myself!" As it all came back to her, she grew hot with anger.

"That was so long ago!" he claimed thinking she should have gotten over it by now.

"And not a single apology from you. Ugh, you're so infuriating." Suddenly Terri stood up from her seat. "I'm going home," she stated, grabbing her belongings.

"How?"

"I'll take the bus."

"In your condition?" he joked.

She smacked him with her purse and he only giggled. She tried to scooch on by, throwing a scowl over her shoulders at him for good measure but instead of being allowed past him, he took hold of her waist and pulled her down onto his lap.

"Hey!" she yelped in both surprise and annoyance. Terri attempted to get right back up, only to have Larry's arms encircle her waist and kept her from leaving. She then felt his head come to rest between her shoulder blades, promptly causing her to tense up.

"I'm sorry." He murmured against her. He had never considered his actions and the situation it had put her in. But as he let her words settle in, and realized what he had done, he actually felt remorseful, which was quite rare in his case. He let out a sigh as he gathered his thoughts and finally found the words he wanted to say. "I shouldn't have made up lies about you for my own benefit. And that time with Jack, I shouldn't have taken advantage of your kindness, knowing that you wanted to be helpful. It was awfully thoughtless of me. I'm so sorry. I won't do it again. I really should've thought about how these things affect you."

Upon hearing his apology, Terri relaxed a bit, letting her shoulder slump as she exhaled loudly with exasperation.

"Please stay," he continued to beg. "I am _very, very, very_, sorry. Please, please stay. Huh? Please?"

She took a beat to ponder over it. He sounded sincerely repentant. "Fine." She sighed, giving in begrudgingly.

Larry's embrace tightened ever so gently around her while murmuring 'thank you' repeatedly between grateful, light kisses across her shoulders. It distracted her from being angry and soon forgot that she was miffed at him. She let out a soft giggle when his lips brushed against the nape of her neck, eliciting a ticklish feeling.

Terri had almost eased back into his frame if it wasn't for reality settling in. The loud voice calling for the next number up came through the speaker and Terri quickly jumped to her feet. Heat flushed to her cheeks as she realized she was getting swept by Larry, even after the fact that he repeatedly did things that got under her skin.

She nervously tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear and returned to her seat next to him.

"You two are a lot," they heard the remark come from the grumpy man on the other side of Terri.

She opened her mouth to apologize, but Larry got in before her. "Why, thank you! Glad you think so!" He exclaimed right before planting a kiss onto Terri's cheek as an extra act of defiance.

The knot in her stomach made its presence known once again. "You're an idiot," she berated. And whether it was towards Larry or to herself, she wasn't exactly certain at that point.

Another number was called and the irritable man beside them got up. "Oh thank God," he said with relief as if he had just been released from the seventh circle of hell.

"You should have traded numbers with him," she whispered to Larry as the man shuffled past them.

…

"So, where do you wanna go for lunch?" Larry asked as he unlocked the car door. They had finally gotten out of the DMV.

"I'm kind of full," she replied while they got into his car.

"Well, I'm hungry. You ate all the food." He started up his car then began to pull out of the parking space.

"It's for the baby," she retorted jokingly. "Well you can eat if you want, but I would rather collect on a nice dinner at this point."

"I guess I can grab something light." He shrugged. "So then, what do you want for dinner?"

"Hmm," she hummed as she stared out the passenger window. She started thinking. It wasn't so much about what she wanted to eat, but rather the reason why the knot in her stomach wouldn't go away. She knew one thing; it was all because of Larry. Certain exchanges were making the knot tighten and she couldn't ignore it. Her gut was telling her something, but she had kept finding a way to make excuses.

There was the fact that maybe everything she had been feeling was because Larry had decided to put on an act. Playing the role of an attentive partner to convince those around them of being a couple expecting a baby. Trying to gain sympathy from strangers.

And maybe in the mix of it all, she hoped it was real.

...He had to have known the games he played...

Larry _infuriated_ her! He always managed to find a way to get under her skin and provoke her. _Every time!_ But lately, she found that he had a caring side. He could be sweet… _occasionally_. He definitely kept her on her toes and she had some fun times with him.

She had to admit, despite all his shortcomings, she didn't hate him. In fact, she could say she was growing fond of Larry and hadn't thought of him to be as loathsome as she once had.

Maybe she let this dinner be some sort of litmus test. Yet, she didn't want to let anything on. There was still a gnawing feeling that Larry would merely put on an act to get his way then move on. Terri wanted to make sure he was going to be sincere and that she wasn't going to end up being someone who fell victim to his schemes.

"So?" he said, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Mmm…I've been meaning to try out _the Hukilau_, it's apparently one of the best seafood restaurants," she informed.

"Does this place require me to wear a tie?"

"Yeah... it's at a resort near the beach."

"Sounds expensive," he remarked.

"Scrooge."

"I'm still going to take you!" He glanced over at her and was glad to see that she was smiling and wasn't irked with him. "Terri, thanks for coming along today."

"No problem. This might actually be one of my more tolerable DMV visits."

"Why? Because you got to hit me?"

Terri laughed. "Aww, I'm sorry. But you did deserve it."

…

On the outside, Terri was the epitome of nonchalance as she sat on her couch petting Sergio, waiting to hear the sound of Larry's signature knock on her door. However, the perpetual knot in her stomach told a different story. She was feeling very unsure of herself and confused about Larry. She couldn't readily put her trust in him knowing his history.

A glance up at the clock told her he was twenty minutes late.

It wasn't long before she heard a ring. She promptly stood and strode over to her door to answer it, only to be confused when opening it and found that no one was there. She heard the ring again and her blue eyes darted from side to side as she tried to figure out where it was coming from. She smacked her head with the base of her palm as it dawned on her that it was her phone ringing. Her nerves were affecting her more than she realized.

"Hello?" she answered her phone calmly.

"Hey, Ter', it's me," she heard Larry say.

"Don't tell me you haven't left yet," she grumbled.

"Sorry."

"Ugh, Larry!"

"I'm actually going to have to cancel. I have to deal with work."

"Oh. Okay…" she trailed off feeling a bit disappointed. She quickly covered her discontent with a light ribbing. "You're not trying to wiggle your way out of buying me dinner are you?"

"What?"

"I was joking."

"No, uh, I'm sorry I didn't hear you," he told her. "Look, Ter. I'm not at home. I have to go," was all he said before the line went dead.

Terri hung up, feeling a little down. She looked to Sergio, who was staring up at her from the couch. "Looks like it's just you and me," she told the kitten as she took her place back on the couch. The little black fur-ball rubbed its tiny head against her as if to comfort her.

She opted to switch on the TV and ended up flipping through the channels mindlessly. Her mind was trying to make heads or tails of her feelings and her current situation. It felt like nothing could be sorted out and everything was meant to stay a confusing mess. It wasn't until she was back at the beginning of the channel rotation that she realized she hadn't been paying much attention to her TV.

Her eyes flickered up to the screen, giving attention to what was being aired. It was some commercial advertising seafood. Her stomach rumbled at the idea of devouring some jumbo shrimp or digging into a butter lobster tail. She could've been having all of that on Larry's dime if he wasn't busy.

Another growl from her stomach and looking down she patted it. It was then she realized she was still dressed up and ready to go. It felt like such a waste of her efforts getting ready by staying in. Also still craving that delicious fresh seafood she had just seen advertised, Terri decided to treat herself out to a nice dinner.

…

Terri sat alone in a booth at the _Hukilau_ alone, sipping at her water as she looked through the menu. As appetizing as the food sounded, the prices were not. When she had finally decided on her order, Terri careened her neck making a show of looking for her server. She scanned the restaurant but abruptly stopped when she caught glimpse of an all too familiar sight of dark, fluffy hair. Her eyes narrowed in and saw that stupid gold chain around his neck glint as it caught the lights of the restaurant.

She saw that he was sitting across from some woman and her rage spiked evermore. Terri got up from her booth and strolled over, not knowing what she was going to do once she got there.

"Well, hello there, Larry." She drew out her words. It sounded unnaturally sweet like a serial killer taking their time to taunt their prey before the initial kill.

She saw that he looked to her with surprise but lacked the fear she thought she would see in his dark eyes. "Hey Ter'. What are you doing here?" He sounded calm, not a hint of remorse in his voice for having had stood her up for another date. Like he hadn't done anything wrong.

It only fueled her anger.

"I thought I'd have a little wine," she said as she picked up his wine glass. "On you." She poured it over his head, letting out one of her satisfied cackles as she did so.

"Terri!" Larry shrieked.

"Hmm," she hummed, tipping her head to the side. "I think I want another glass," she claimed right before she took his date's wineglass and poured that all over him as well.

In a frenzy, Larry was sputtering and trying to dab the wine off with a napkin. "_What was that for_?" he had the audacity to ask her.

She couldn't believe how thoughtless he was.

"Are you done with that?" Terri asked his date while pointing at a bowl of soup.

The current situation had the woman speechless and she merely opened and closed her mouth. She nodded at Terri.

The nurse smiled and took the bowl the proceeded to pour its contents into Larry's lap while he was busy trying to get cleaned up.

He yelped at the sudden warm wetness in his lap.

Terri thought it was a pity the soup wasn't scalding hot, but it would just have to do.

It should have been satisfying, but all she felt was anger and hurt as she stormed off and out of the restaurant.

She could hear him call after her and she picked up her pace, trying to get away from him as fast as possible so that he didn't see just how hurt she was. Anger was one thing, but she wasn't going to let him see that she was crushed.

What was she thinking? That Larry was somehow going to be someone who didn't only think about himself? That he wouldn't dump her for a date with a sure thing?

She had seen how he operated and everything was always just for show. He was the greatest showman. An illusionist. In the end, it was nothing but smoke and mirrors and at his very core, he was just a self-indulgent, inconsiderate, playboy.

Terri concluded she must have lost her mind to think that she was seeing him in a different light. Call it a moment of temporary insanity when she entertained the notion of something more with him.

Clearly, to Larry, she was someone he could put on the back burner.

Terri could only take solace in the fact that he wasn't a mind reader, allowing her to keep her pride intact.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for sticking around! Really appreciate you guys for actually reading my crap. Honestly.


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